Laurels
by Tauna Petit-Strawn
Summary: Nick arrives home with a wife and child. Question is...why? Rated T to be safe. Genre and rating always subject to change. Gene should also be on the list of characters.
1. Chapter 1

*Sabrina refers to the Sabrina from the episode _The Velvet Trap._

Chapter One

The sound of the train Nick traveled on rang out loud and clear; vibrating through the stillness of the morning air. Nick sat in a seat next to the window and stretched his legs the best he could. It wasn't actually easy, seeing how his six foot frame wanted to push the seat in front of him when he stretched. He glanced at the pitch black haired young woman that was seated next to him and the small child-a dark brown haired boy just under two years old sleeping on her lap. He shook his head slightly and inwardly sighed. What with his dark brown hair and the fact that, when he smiled, the boy had dimples similar to his, Nick knew people could justifiably think he'd fathered the boy. It was a fact that had already been pointed out to him.

"I'm crazy or stupid; maybe both." Nick told himself as he thought on what would take place once he returned home to the ranch with a wife and a son. He sighed as he thought about telling the family everything, but he couldn't. They'd have something to say about his new situation, probably tell him to grow up and accept responsibility for his actions. He might have thought differently, but it hadn't been all that long since ***** Sabrina had appeared in their lives, and they hadn't believed him when he'd told them how the two of them had met. Well, maybe they had, but they sure didn't act like it.

"It's not too late. As long as we're on this train, plans can change. Chad and I can always stay on the train once we get to Stockton." Hannah wasn't blind; she could see the conflict in Nick's eyes and, from everything he'd told her about his family, she was sure they'd see it too. There would be questions, questions neither she nor Nick would be free to answer.

"No," Nick reached out and ran his finger down the side of Chad's face. "No one forced me into anything; I made that decision myself. Though, we best prepare to be interrogated by my family, especially my mother. She's not going to be happy when she learns I hopped a train in pursuit of a female cattle buyer only to return with a totally different woman as my wife and a son to boot. We'll have to be careful and not contradict ourselves. It would only serve to put a spur under her and everyone else's saddle and, after the telegram I sent, there will be questions. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like answering any more questions than necessary."

Hannah let out a slow breath. Nick was right; they didn't need tons of questions asked. She might have continued thinking, and worrying, about the first meeting with his family, but Chad began stirring and diverted her attention.

~oOo~

"What do you think of this?" Audra turned away from the decorations she'd been hanging up in the front room and looked at Jarrod and Heath who had just entered the living room; they'd just returned from town.

"Looks good to me," Jarrod said as he headed towards the small table they kept their alcohol and glasses. He wasn't about to say anything different. If he did, she'd hand him the job, and Jarrod was too tired to deal with decorations for any reason. That might not have been the case, but Jingo had thrown a shoe after they'd left town. Jarrod would have turned around and walked back into Stockton, but they were just over halfway home. That being the case he saw no reason to turn around, which was better for Jingo's feet but not his own.

Heath said the same thing, for the same reason. That is, with Jarrod having to walk; Heath had dismounted Charger and walked with his brother. Besides, decorating the room for Nick's birthday had been Audra's idea not theirs, and his feet were yelling at him something fierce. He sat down on the chair closest to the foyer and began taking off his boots. Then, thinking how Nick had been around anything decorative since Sabrina and her chimes, he said, "You know sis, Nick might not want all these decorations. Have you thought about that?"

Audra smiled as she went back to putting up the last of the streamers she had bought in town the day before. "If he can go chasing after a female cattle buyer, he's past arguing about what I do or do not put up for his birthday."

"Wonder how he did with the cattle buyer. I mean, his telegram said he wasn't coming home alone. Do you think he actually talked her into coming back to Stockton with him?" Heath couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at Jarrod, who had just set his empty glass down.

"I doubt it. Probably had the same luck he's had with every other female he's chased. Maybe, one of these days, he'll get it through his head in order to catch something good you have to stop chasing it so hard. No, he probably just picked up someone needing a place to stay for awhile." Jarrod rolled his eyes, hoping if that was the case they wouldn't have another Sabrina on their hands.

"Are you talking about you and Eva?" Audra stepped off the ladder she'd been using and teased her older brother. Eva was a thirty-year-old widow who had been working as Jarrod's secretary for the past year. With her reddish brown hair done up in a bun on the back of her head, her sparkling hazel eyes and wearing some of the most beautiful dresses Audra had ever seen, the five foot five-inch woman was breathtakingly beautiful. Within months of starting to work for Jarrod, everyone in the Barkley family knew Jarrod was interested in her…and not just for her looks. The woman was a college graduate and very intelligent.

"Don't worry about Eva or me." Jarrod answered, though he failed to hide the twinkle in his eyes as he answered just as Victoria-who had heard part of the conversation, entered the living room. However, before she could say anything the front door opened and Nick walked in. Each and every one of the Barkleys' eyes widened and a thousand questions ran through their mind as they saw the child in his arms and the young black haired woman by his side.


	2. Chapter 2

Laurels

Chapter Two

 _ **Previously:**_ _"Don't worry about Eva or me." Jarrod answered, though he failed to hide the twinkle in his eyes as he answered just as Victoria-who had heard part of the conversation, entered the living room. However, before she could say anything the front door opened and Nick walked in. Each and every one of the Barkleys' eyes widened and a thousand questions ran through their mind as they saw the child in his arms and the young black haired woman by his side._

~oOo~

Neither Nick nor Hannah was surprised by the shocked expressions upon his family's face…or the profound silence that instantly fell upon them. However, Nick had no intention of simply waiting for his mother or any member of his family to start asking questions before Hannah had a chance to lay Chad down for another nap. The child had actually slept very little and had started getting rather ornery just before they arrived at the ranch. He dared say the only reason Chad was quiet now was because he was afraid; Nick could tell that much by the way Chad practically flew from his arms to Hannah's.

"Silas," Nick said as their faithful servant descended the stairs. "Would you show Hannah up to the old nursery and show her where the linen is? There will be plenty of time for proper introductions once Chad is asleep."

While stunned to see Nick with a woman, one with a child in her arms, Silas did not show it. He simply smiled politely and answered, "Yes, sir, Mister Nick. This way ma'am," Silas nodded towards the stairs.

"Like Nick said, my name is Hannah, feel free to use it." Hannah smiled as she held Chad close and followed Silas up the stairs.

Only when the three had disappeared around the corner and into the hallway did Nick turn his attention to his family. The fact that annoyance, confusion and a bit of simmering anger showed in all their eyes didn't surprised him in the least. He headed straight for decanters and glasses that sat in their usual places. He was glad that one of the decanters had whiskey in it; he needed a drink.

"Well," Victoria folded her arms and-thinking the apple had not fallen far from the tree- threw darts her son's way. "Do you have something to confess?"

" _He's not my son"_ came into Nick's mind, but for now he forced himself to keep that thought to himself. Nick turned and looked at his mother and family, "I never knew Chad existed before I stepped off the train in Wyoming." _"At least that's the truth, even if they will assume I'm making an unspoken confession'._ "His name is Chad Jonathon." _'Not only could he pass for my son, but he has my middle name as well. How lucky, or unlucky, is that'_ was another thought he kept to himself. Nick reached into his vest and pulled out a folded piece of paper and, stepping forward, handed it to Jarrod. "Do you need anything else to add Barkley to his name?"

Jarrod said nothing as he took the paper, unfolded it and looked. He had expected it to say something along the lines that Nick was the child's father and that he wanted the boy to have his last name. Instead it simply said ' _To Whom it May Concern, Chad Jonathon's last name should be Barkley. Signed Nicolas Jonathon Barkley'_ Nick had also dated the note. Like their mother, Jarrod figured Nick was not happy about being 'caught in the act' as it were, but was doing what he could to make things right. For that, Jarrod had to give him credit.

"Well?" Nick folded his arms and prepared for what he feared might be an inquisition of sorts.

"This will do." Jarrod folded the paper back up and put it into his shirt pocket.

"So, what's going on? Who is she? Why have we never met her before? Where did the two of you meet?" While Audra was thinking along the same lines as Jarrod and Victoria, she wasn't willing to wait for her brother to offer some answers.

Nick looked at his mother. While he could still see annoyance and confusion, he could also see disappointment; that hurt more than anything. How he wanted to explain everything and that there was no need for any disappointment, but he couldn't. Not yet anyway, "Her name is Hannah Ackers, and you will meet her at dinner, along with getting some of the answers I know you all want." ' _Not all, but some'_ Nick thought as he turned and poured himself another shot of whiskey and gulped it down. He then turned and faced his family once more. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check in on Hannah and Chad." He started to leave and then stopped. Turning back, he looked at his family and said in an uncharacteristic low tone of voice, "I won't blame you if you stay mad at me for a long time, but please, don't take it out on the boy or Hannah." He then exited the room and climbed the stairs, and disappeared into the hallway.

Victoria, still feeling a thousand emotions, sat down on the sofa. Audra quickly joined her. "I'm a mother in law and a grandmother; I should be thrilled and shouting for joy, but…" she glanced towards the stairs. "I can't believe this is happening. Sure, he's always had a wandering eye, but we've always known who he's seeing. Or," she sighed as she said, "I thought we did."

Jarrod and Audra both sat next to their mother, one on each side to give her their support. On the other hand Heath, who had been watching Nick closely the whole time he'd been addressing the family, quietly left the room and headed upstairs. He had a brother he wanted to talk to.

When he reached Nick's room, the bedroom door was wide open and his hot tempered brother was unpacking. Since Hannah was not with him, Heath assumed she was with the boy. Heath knocked on the door and stepped inside.

Nick turned his head and watched Heath enter, and then went back to unpacking. "If you want to hit me across the chin or something, feel free to. It won't make me say anything more than what I've already said."

Unlike the others in the family, Heath just knew there was more going on than just his brother showing up with a wife and son. A part of him wanted to demand that Nick tell him what all of it was really about. However, the larger part of him wanted Nick to know someone had his back no matter what. "Not goin' hit you, just wanted you to know I'm here if you need me."

Nick froze mid air, his best shirt draped over his arm. _"Why did I ever fight Heath being part of the family?'_ Nick thought as he smiled wide. "Thanks, Heath. We'll see you at supper."

Heath said nothing, but he threw Nick a crooked smile and then turned around and walked back out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

 _ **Previously:**_ _Nick froze mid air, his best shirt draped over his arm. "Why did I ever fight Heath being part of the family?' Nick thought as he smiled wide. "Thanks, Heath. We'll see you at supper."_

 _Heath said nothing, but he threw Nick a crooked smile and then turned around and walked back out the door._

 _~oOo~_

"Breathe in… my family doesn't bite and this dress isn't that tight; you said so yourself." Nick smile as he buttoned the back of Hannah's dress for her, one he'd bought for her once they'd arrived in Stockton. _"Nothing wrong with you having a new dress; in fact, I'm sure my sister will be more than happy to go shopping with you later and refit you with a whole new wardrobe! Remember, we already discussed this"_ had been his exact words. Hannah would have argued only he was right; they had discussed it at some length. There was no need to beat a dead horse.

"I didn't say they did." She then shook her head and let out a slight chuckle. "With everything I'd seen in my life, and everywhere I've been, why am I so nervous? Eating dinner with your family should be a piece of cake." Hannah held her hands in front of her; they were little shaking. All right, they weren't shaking badly, but they were still shaking.

"If you weren't a bit on edge, I'd wonder about you. I don't care what you've done or what places you've seen." Nick told her as he walked over to where Chad sat on the rug in Nick's room; the child was playing with a small wooden horse. Bending over, he picked up the boy. After explaining it was time to put the toy up and go eat, Nick took the toy from the child and put it on top of his dresser. Naturally, Chad tried to reach out and grab it only to have Nick repeat himself as he walked back over to Hannah. "Ready or not," He nodded towards the door as he started walking towards it.

"Or not is more like it," Hannah chuckled, as she hurried out of the room with him.

~oOo~

The family sat around the dinner table discussing Nick's arrival with wife and child in hand, but stopped abruptly when Nick, who held onto Chad's left hand with his right one walked in with Hannah by his other side. "Don't stop talking on our account." Nick told them as he pulled out a chair with one hand for Hannah. He had to smile when he saw the chair next to hers and in between his. Probably Silas' idea. A high chair would have to be the another thing for the shopping list. Soon he had Chad on the upside down pan softened with a cushion on top, before he sat down.

After some light, but somewhat awkward conversations, Victoria looked at her new daughter-in-law and asked firmly, but politely, "May I ask where you're from?"

Remembering everything they'd discussed in the past, Hannah took a deep breath and did her best to smile. "I was born in Pennsylvania, but both my parents moved constantly due to their work with the theatre."

"The theatre!" Audra, who just adored plays, grew excited thinking that; maybe, her brother now had famous in-laws and that was why he hadn't said anything.

However, that theory was shot down when Hannah replied, "They weren't performers; they worked backstage. Many of the sets the theatre group they belonged with was built by father. My mother helped with a lot of the painting when she could."

"So, how did the two of you meet? Nick doesn't go to too many plays." Audra again asked.

Nick and Hannah knew what kind of answer she expected, only they weren't about to give it to her. Instead Nick, after glancing at Hannah, answered, "Through her cousin if you must know; he's worked at various auctions in the past." Nick knew Audra and the others would assume he meant he and the cousin had met a long time ago, but he wasn't going to correct what would be a wrong assumption.

"I think that's enough for right now, Audra." Victoria, who had every intention of cornering Nick later, shot her daughter a silent warning with her eyes, "This is supper, not a sheriff's office." After the initial shock, Victoria had decided that, no matter what Nick had done in the past, her middle son was making things right, and she wanted to enjoy her daughter-in-law and new grandson.

"If you want, I can boss the round up." Heath spoke up after a few moments.

The round up; Nick groaned inwardly. He had been struggling with that one since the day he agreed to show up back home with a wife and son. He should be the one bossing the round up, yet the men more than respected and liked Heath now. He turned and looked at Hannah, explaining what his brother was talking about.

"Of course, he'll do it! I'm not going to stop him." Hannah exclaimed when the family looked at her as if to see if she was going to encourage Nick to take Heath up on his offer. "I knew what Nick did for a living before I ever boarded the train with him! Though," she looked at Nick and added, "You don't to leave tonight do you?" She knew what the others would think she was implying, and she was proven right when a smirk that came onto Audra face while Jarrod and Victoria pretended to cut their meat that didn't need cutting. Heath simply said nothing, waiting to hear what came next; it made her blush inwardly. She just hoped Nick would hear what she was really saying; he did.

"No, we don't have to leave for a few days." He told her and then purposely geared the discussion away from them. A ploy that might not have worked only Heath, seeing his brother and new sister-in-law didn't want to talk about themselves, helped to keep the discussion on anything but them. It was something Nick would later thank him for.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"No one's going to question Chad being mine." Nick stood in front of Hannah's dresser, his hands on her shoulders. He was just about to leave, and the two of them had just had quite the heated discussion as to whether Nick really had to go on the round up-though Nick had shocked himself by actually controlling the volume of his voice. Nick felt that; maybe, he should go ahead and turn things over to Heath. Only Hannah had fought him tooth and nail on it. 'The deal was that you carry on life like normal' had been her exact words. She was right, and he knew it. However, he was still going to on insist on taking one precaution.

"Your cousin was right when he said the boy looks too much like me, especially with those dimples of his. Audra will probably want to take him into town and show him off; I know her. She adores children. That's okay. I'll just make sure she, and everyone who works for us, knows to refer to him as my son, even though Jarrod hasn't made it legal yet. However, I don't like leaving you right now. Promise me, you won't leave the ranch until I get back." He didn't figure he needed to tell her to high tail it to her room if she saw anyone suspicious; they'd already talked about that one earlier.

Hannah turned and leaned against the wall. For a few minutes it looked as if she was deep in thought. "Won't that make your family suspicious? I mean, people who move to a new place usually want to see what it's like." There was confusion in her eyes and in her voice.

Nick shook her head and told her it wouldn't be a problem. "After the war I had problems for a little while going places, couldn't even wear my spurs for the noise they made. As you've said before, you've been around and seen a lot. I'll just tell them due to your past experiences you're extremely skittish around people and don't really want to go into town. I'll say that I was lucky you were actually off your cousin's land and relaxed just enough to talk with me when we met; you _were_ uptight when we met. It will make them question my wisdom in getting involved with you, but questioning my decisions won't exactly be new. That is, not with my history with women."

"Don't know if you consider yourself lucky. You might wind up wishing my cousin had remained silent when you started talking to him and me." Hannah couldn't help but chuckle as she replied to his suggestion.

Nick just smiled at her comment and then said, "Just promise me you won't leave the ranch. You can do anything you want to this room, just don't move the saddle." He nodded towards the saddle he'd had since he was six. "And don't mess my dresser. There's no reason to."

"Fine, but you best go talk to your family." Hannah stepped away from the dresser and looked toward the open door. "Audra's already asked me to go to town, and I told her I'd seriously consider it."

"I'll do that now, before I pack for the round up." He headed for the door only to stop dead in his tracks when Hannah threw out another question, one he had tried not to think about.

"What about Jarrod? You said he was a lawyer. In that business, sooner or later, he might hear something and; maybe, put two and two together. If he does that, he might get four or he might get twenty-two. Either way, he'll want answers. The way you talk about him, he'll probably be demanding them."

That was something Nick did not doubt in the least. He just hoped nothing would warrant any questions until he got back, if it had to happen at all. "If he does, stand your ground and tell him you'll only talk to him with me around." He said as he turned around and looked at her. Nick didn't want her to have to explain anything to anyone unless he was home; he didn't care how strong she was. "Trust me; I'll take care of you and the boy."

Out of the men she'd met through the years, Nick Barkley had to be the most trustworthy one she'd ever met. It made her both happy and sad. If his family was as good as he said they were; which he had no reason to lie, they shouldn't be kept in the dark. "All right, I'll do as you say. I just wish…" she sighed as she sat down on the bed. "I just wish we could tell your family everything."

Nick let out a slow breathe. He knew how she felt, but neither of them were free to do that at the moment. "A promise is a promise, and I intend to keep mine." He started to turn to leave, but turned back around at the last second, surprised her by crossing the floor and kissing her. "I'll see you when I get home." He then left the room, leaving Hannah's heart pounding just a bit faster as she tried to get her mind back on the room and just what she wanted to do with it.

 **~oOo~**

"What?" Victoria, Audra and Jarrod looked at Nick in surprise while Heath simply sat back and listened. The first three Barkleys had thought Hannah seemed relaxed and pleasant enough at dinner the night before, and now Nick was implying something very different. On the other hand, what Nick was saying only confirmed in Heath's mind something else was really going on.

While he more than understood their reaction, Nick didn't feel like repeating himself. The sooner he and Heath started the roundup, the sooner he could get back. "She has a slight anxiety problem." Nick took a deep breath and then apologized for the last words he'd said to them. "You're the best family a man can have, really. If you weren't, I'd never have been able to show up with a wife and son you'd never met. Please, just give her the space she needs." 'She needs it more than I can tell you' was a thought he added silently.

While they still were shocked to hear the young woman had a problem that would restrict how much she associated with people, the family-after looking at each other and communicating silently-agreed to abide by Nick's wishes. "But I still get to take Chad into town right? I mean, it's not every day I have a nephew to show off."

Nick couldn't help but grin as his words to Hannah were proven to be spot on. "Of course, you can. You just make sure to refer to him as my son." He looked at Jarrod, "I don't care if big brother hasn't had time to make that part official."

"Oh, don't worry I will!" Audra was beaming.

"I'll go get my things." Nick looked at Heath. "Do you need to get yours?"

"Nope, already to leave," Heath answered. "I was just waiting for you."

"Good," Nick said as he hurried to grab what he would need for the next week, while Audra and Victoria left the living room, saying they had to get a few things from the attic before heading to town.

"What's going on that you're not saying?" Jarrod, who noticed Heath had not reacted as the others had to Nick's news, realized that Heath had reacted differently from the beginning. It made him think Heath knew more than he did.

"Nothing," Heath answered as he stood up and looked Jarrod in the eyes. "You know as much as I do." _"Just don't go asking what I am wondering,'_ Heath thought as he walked out of the room and disappeared outside.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Hannah couldn't help but laugh a little as she sat on a bale of hay that sat against the east side of the barn; she was working on a sketch, while Chad was 'chasing' Audra in a circle. The two women had been working in the garden, but had taken a break. The work in the garden and, now, drawing and watching Audra play with Chad felt so wonderful. Hannah realized she hadn't truly been able to simply sit and relax for a long time. Hannah prayed life would remain quiet…at least for a couple of months.

Audra, continuing 'running from Chad', glanced towards Hannah. Nick had not been over-exaggerating when he said Hannah was extremely shy and quiet. The friendly chat she and Hannah had shared while working in the garden had been pleasant enough, but Audra had been the instigator of the conversation. Also, the one story she did get Hannah to tell…one to do with her parents and the theatre had been amazing but, again, it wasn't Hannah who started the conversation. Though, Audra couldn't help wonder why Hannah wouldn't talk much about how she and Nick met _. "We met at an auction; my cousin was with me"_ was all Hannah had said before quickly turning her attention to the weeds around the turnips. A part of Audra wanted to press the issue; the other part could said to be patient and give the young woman time to get to know her. Audra shook her head slightly and continued playing with Chad, also telling herself that Hannah simply didn't want to talk about slipping up and finding herself with a child to raise by herself. That is, not until she and Nick met up again. Audra smiled as Chad laughed very loudly and cried, "I get you! I get it" as he grabbed a hold of her skirt. At least he was more active and didn't have to be prodded to talk. Though, he didn't really say anything that told Audra something she didn't already know.

Hannah, with her attention on Audra, Chad and the drawing she was making, felt as if she flew ten feet in the air when Victoria walked up beside her and said, "You're quite the artist." That is, after looking at the picture in Hannah's hands. "Audra will be flattered." Victoria said as she looked a the picture of Audra and Chad, and the laurels that Hannah had sketched around them.

"Thank you," Hannah smiled as she put her heart back into place.

"I'm sorry if I startled you. I didn't mean to." Victoria sat down on another bale of hay; there was actually three set against the barn wall, and smiled at Hannah. "I just wanted to thank you. Silas said you voluntarily helped with breakfast this morning."

Hannah looked towards the house and smiled wide. While she'd started out helping Silas simply for something to do, by the end of the preparation she would have done it all over again if she could have. Silas was such a friendly gentleman, and the stories he told her were fascinating. "I didn't mind. Mama always said idle hands are the devil's workshop; I just wanted to do something worthwhile."

Victoria's eyes smiled as her mouth turned upwards. She had to admit there was something about the young woman that screamed she was a good one. However, as Hannah turned her attention back to the drawing, Victoria's eyes filled with concern instead. She couldn't help but wonder what made the young woman so quiet. Like Audra, Victoria had tried to have conversations with the young woman her son had brought home. The woman had been more than polite when giving Victoria answers to the questions asked of her, but the replies had been extremely short and told Victoria very little. Her daughter-in-law's reaction had her wondering if Hannah's childhood came close to Heath's…as he'd been just as quiet in his early days with the family. If only there was something, anything, she could say to get the young woman to talk more. Just as she was about to stand up, Victoria looked again at the picture. "We don't have any laurels around." She looked around the barn and towards Audra and Chad. "Do you mind telling me why you chose those flowers?"

Hannah stopped drawing and gazed upon Audra and Chad once more. Victoria was sure a solid three or four minutes had passed before Hannah started drawing again. She might have thought the young woman wasn't going to answer her, but that thought fled as Hannah began talking.

"My grandmother told me that *Laurels can mean many different things to various people." Hannah started drawing yet another leaf, this one near Audra's hand. "Personally, my grandmother saw it as a sight of hopeful expectation of success in search of the truth. The Laurel has also been believed to have powers of immortality." She turned and smiled at Victoria, "I guess seeing Audra and Chad playing so good together just reminded me that all women's lives continue on through their children and grandchildren. Well, in a way. I mean, children grow up and have to live their own lives. Still, they are greatly influenced by the adults in their lives…especially their mothers or grandmothers." She then turned back to the picture and fell silent, uncomfortable with all the talking she'd just done. It might not have been the case, only she feared she'd get too comfortable and say something she shouldn't.

Victoria couldn't help but wonder about Hannah's family, and promised herself to ask Hannah about them. That is, after Hannah had been around the family enough to feel more comfortable. She might have changed her mind only she could tell how hard Hannah was concentrating on the drawing of Audra and Chad. She didn't want to interfere what looked like it would be a wonderful work of art once it was completed. Knowing she had an appointment in town to keep, Victoria stood up. Though, as she did so, she couldn't help but comment, "As good as you are at drawing, you might want to think about trying to draw something you can sell. I'm sure many people would love to have one of your pictures if they're all as good as that one."

It was all Hannah could do to keep drawing and not show how Victoria's sincere words of compliment had actually affected her.

A/N

*I looked up Laurels on the internet, and they had a lot various beliefs connected to them…too many to post.


	6. Chapter 6

*Macklin and Alderson are, of course, from Court Martial.

Chapter Six

 _ **Previously:**_ _Victoria couldn't help but wonder about Hannah's grandmother and mother, and promised herself to ask Hannah about them, just not at that moment. She might have changed her mind only she could tell how hard Hannah was concentrating on the drawing, Audra and Chad. She didn't want to interfere what looked like it would be a wonderful work of art once it was completed. Knowing she had an appointment in town to keep, Victoria stood up. Though, as she did so, she couldn't help but comment, "As good as you are at drawing, you might want to think about trying to draw something you can sell. I'm sure many people would love to have one of your pictures if they're all as good as that one."_

 _It was all Hannah could do to keep drawing and not show how Victoria's words had actually affected her._

 _~oOo~_

Heath stood underneath one of the few tall Oak trees in the area they were moving the cattle; he was watching as Nick sat on a nearby boulder. His brother had just lit a cigarette and looked a thousand miles away. Slowly, Heath made his way to Nick. "I'm here if you need to talk."

Nick removed the cigarette from his lips and, tapping it so as to get the ashes to fall to the ground, turned his head to look at Heath. Ever since he'd really accepted Heath as a brother, the two of them had talked about everything and anything. He knew he could trust Heath with his life. Maybe that's why it was so hard to say nothing, and keep him in the dark. Then again, there was one thing he could talk about…the first reason he had allowed himself to get into the situation he was in. "He _is_ a Barkley, and everyone knows he's my son by now." Nick took another drag on his cigarette.

Heath amazed Nick when he said quietly, "But he isn't yours by blood."

Nick stared at Heath, though he didn't know why. The blonde haired cowboy was one of the most observant men he knew. "Don't repeat that, or I'll flat out deny it."

"Who is his father? What did Hannah say or do to make you willing to marry her and claim him as yours?" Heath didn't like the idea that his brother may have once more allowed himself to be used by a beautiful woman.

He was astounded when Nick turned sharply and barked in a low warning tone, "Don't go blaming Hannah for anything. She's not the one who started this." He then turned his attention to the scenery in front of him…which included the cows they were moving. "I'm sorry Heath, I really am, but I can't…and I mean, _can't_ …tell you anything else right now. If I could I would believe me. And," he sighed, "forget what I just said. You do what you want to with my confession only, if you share it, know this," his shoulders slumped forward ever so slightly, "I'll have to turn the ranch over to you and take Hannah, along with Chad and leave…and don't ask me where we'd go because I don't know."

Heath's eyes widened. His brother would turn his back on the ranch? He would take his wife and son and go to some undisclosed place if his confession was shared? If there had been any doubt in Heath's mind that was something serious was going on, Nick's words confirmed it. However, Heath knew Nick very well; his gut told him that Nick must have a very good reason for not sharing the information. "I'll say nothing of our conversation tonight; you have my word even if you didn't ask for it. Though, I do ask that you explain everything as soon as you feel like you can."

Nick, who had been very visibly uptight, felt the majority of tension he'd been feeling drain out of him. Heath's word was as good as gold; his words would not be repeated. "Of course," Though, thinking of the past, Nick sighed. "I'm sorry, Heath. I never wanted you to ever be in a spot where you could say nothing on my account again. It wasn't fair back then, and it's not fair now. I just…" Nick let out an exasperated, frustrated, breath.

Heath didn't have to ask what Nick was talking about. He gave him a crooked smile, "I know. Don't worry about it." He then walked away, saying he was going to lie down.

~ **oOo~**

The house was as quiet as could be when Jarrod opened the front door and stepped inside. It made him wonder where the women and Chad were. That is, until his mother walked out of the dining room. "Jarrod! You're home early." Victoria was smiling from ear to ear as she greeted her oldest son.

"After the morning I had," Jarrod said as he walked into the living room and set his briefcase down on the top of the piano, "I decided to take the afternoon off."

"I thought you had a lull in work; did that change?" Victoria asked as she watched Jarrod walk over to where the decanter sat and pour himself a drink.

"Yes and no." Jarrod answered as he swallowed the sherry, not his favorite drink by all means, but all they had at the moment.

Victoria frowned slightly as she walked over to the sofa, sat down, gestured to the other side of it as a way of inviting Jarrod to join her and asked, "What do you mean?"

Jarrod didn't answer until he'd sat down on the opposite side of the sofa. "I had a visitor."

By the look of one who had mixed emotions, Victoria knew whoever the visitor was had not exactly been someone Jarrod wanted to see. "Who was it?" She asked when it became apparent Jarrod wasn't saying anything else.

"*Macklin," He finally answered as he turned his head and looked at his mother.

Her eyes widened and she felt her heart skip a beat. "The federal agent who pulled you into helping the government get a confession out of *Alderson?"

"One and the same," Jarrod replied leaning forward, clasping his hands together as he did so.

"What did he want?" Victoria asked, not sure she really wanted an answer, but knowing she needed one…and Jarrod needed to talk. She could see that by the tired look in his eyes.

"I don't know; he only stopped in long enough to make an appointment with me, one where we can have more time to talk." Jarrod answered as lowered his head and rubbed his neck, an action that had his mother offering to give him a neck rub. "I guess I shouldn't say I don't know anything. He did say he would be heading to Wyoming after our visit."

Jarrod and Victoria continued to visit unaware that Hannah had been at the top of the stairs and heard everything… nor did they see her turn around and disappear down the hall and into the room she now shared with Nick.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

 _ **Previously:  
**_ _  
Jarrod and Victoria continued to visit unaware that Hannah had been at the top of the stairs and heard everything… nor did they see her turn around and disappear down the hall and into the room she now shared with Nick._

~oOo~

Hannah stood next to the side of her bedroom window and watched as Jarrod talked with Ciego. It had been almost two weeks since she arrived at the ranch with Nick. She didn't know what Jarrod and Ciego were talking about, nor did she really care. If the two men thought she should be in on the conversation, they'd have asked her to join them. As it was, she had her mind on what she'd accidentally overheard Jarrod telling his mother. It had been all she could do to keep fear from gripping her heart when she'd heard who Jarrod's visitor had been.

Slowly, Hannah walked over to the bed and sat down. Macklin! She didn't know whether to scream or not. Whether the man wanted to admit it or not, they were both after the same thing. If things were different, if he hadn't refused to listen to her sister, she wouldn't be sitting in the Barkley mansion wondering how to get word to her husband that Macklin was in the area. While the drive was a short one and he, Heath, and the men were due home the next day, Hannah wanted Nick to be aware of Macklin's presence before Nick returned.

"Why did you get so focused on the desired outcome, you forgot to keep your eyes wide open? Why did you turn a deaf ear to what my cousin was trying to tell you?' She asked as she thought on Macklin. Though, even as she asked the question, she knew couldn't really condemn the man too loud on those accounts. Hadn't she been guilty of the same exact thing at various times in her life? "Most of all, why did you have to turn into such an arrogant man?" Before she could ask herself any more questions, a knock came at her door. When it did, she felt like she'd jumped out of her skin. "Cute, wonder why Macklin didn't pay attention and listen, and allow yourself to do the same thing. Real cute," Hannah silently chastised herself.

"Who is it?" She called out as she stood up and composed herself.

"It's Victoria," Victoria answered, and then waited until her daughter-in-law told her to come in before she opened the bedroom door.

"Lunch is ready." Victoria smiled at Hannah, though she felt instant concern as she could easily see that her daughter-in-law was a bit rattled. She couldn't help wonder why. It's not like they'd had any visitors. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Hannah answered as she silently added, _'Or fine as I can be for now,'_ "I'll be right down."

"Good, see you in a few minutes." Victoria started to leave the room, and then turned back. "Are you sure there's nothing you want to talk about?"

Hannah shook her head. "INo, 'm fine." Hannah then watched as Victoria turned and left the room.

Minutes later, Hannah was joining Victoria and Jarrod at the dining room table. The three had a pleasant lunch, though Hannah stayed true to character and said very little. However, by the time she'd finished eating; Hannah knew how to get a coded message to Nick. She might not have, but Jarrod mentioned the round up and spoke of the exact spot his brothers and their men would be making camp…mostly because he thought they should have planned to camp elsewhere.

~oOo~

Audra took her time walking down the boardwalk that ran in front of the business in Stockton; two-year-old Chad held her hand and walked along side her. Sooner or later, she knew she'd have to carry him, but for now he was enjoying walking on his own two feet. Only when Fred stepped out of a nearby store did she stop walking.

Fred, who had heard the talk, but not really believed it, couldn't help but stare at the young child next to Audra Barkley. The two-year-old was smiling and giggling while looking at the sheriff…which meant his dimples were more than noticeable. _'Oh boy, I wasn't just hearing stories. You do look like Nick'_ Fred thought as he greeted Audra. "He's a cute one. Wonder if he's going to be as much of a handful as Nick has been."

"Probably, he can't seem to sit still for a moment and he'd be into everything if I wasn't holding his hand." Audra laughed as she answered the good sheriff. "I was taking him over to the orphanage with me. I've got a few things to do over there and figured he could play with the Taylor boy." The Taylor boy was a three-year-old who had lost his father in an unfortunate accident on his farm; his mother had died shortly after his birth. The orphanage was taking care of him until his grandparents from Nevada could come and get him-which they had promised they were doing when they replied to the sheriff's telegram.

"I'm sure he'll enjoy it. Though," Fred sighed, "Don't be surprised if you hear a few things before you get there. Needless to say, his and his mother's arrival has given the gossipy people of Stockton something to talk about…especially since Nick's wife has yet to come to town."

"Let them talk. Hannah is a very polite, hardworking woman who simply prefers to stay on the ranch." Audra held her head high as she spoke of her sister in law, who was constantly helping Silas or doing something else to help around the ranch. Okay, Audra wished the young woman would talk more, but she wasn't going to condemn Hanna simply because she refused to do so.

"So your mother tells me, I'll have to come out and meet her some time. If she'll see me," Fred added the last part simply because Victoria had already told him what Nick had told them about Hannah being skittish around strangers.

"How about telling me when you'll be out and I'll talk to Hannah, prepare her for the fact that our sheriff-who happens to be a good friend-wants to meet her. I would think, with warning, she would be okay with it." At least Audra hoped Hannah would be.

"I'll talk to my wife. Maybe if we both came, it would help your sister-in-law relax more than if I showed up by myself."

"Good idea," Audra smiled and then excused herself and Chad, who was growing antsy and trying to get away from his aunt.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

 _ **A/N**_ _In "Court Martial" they never gave Macklin a first name (I looked up the credits on you tube and other areas on the internet) and all it ever said was Macklin. That being the case, when Nick talks about him I've taken writer's liberty and given the character a first name._

 **~oOo~**

The light from the dancing flames of the campfire gave warmth to Nick, Heath and the men that sat around, or near, the fire pit. The cattle had all been moved, and the men were happy to be heading home. Though, many of them were talking about taking a detour into Stockton in order to stop at the saloon; after a two-week drive, drinks and women sure looked good to them.

"Too bad you'll miss out on the fun." One of the men-a red headed long time employee, Bryan Staples, near Nick laughed and teased his boss. "That woman of yours will be expecting you home." Some of the men laughed, some of them waited to see if Nick would laugh first.

When it came to Nick, he simply smiled. "I wouldn't worry about me." Nick chuckled and threw Bryan a smile. "You'll have enough to worry about when you go into the saloon and try to get one of the waitresses to notice your ugly mug." That got a laugh from all the men, including Bryan.

Heath started to join in the conversation only to sit straight up. He could see a rider coming towards the camp; and the man was riding pretty hard. Noticing Heath's posture change and following his gaze, Nick quit laughing and turned to see what his brother was looking at. When he did that, Nick was on his feet faster than lightening. It was Ciego.

"You men stay here; I'll go see what's up." Nick said as he started walking briskly towards the rider. Everyone but Heath stayed where they were at; Heath was soon by Nick's side.

"You don't listen very well." Nick teased through a wide grin.

"As good as you do," Heath shot back which, of course, got a laugh out of Nick. Minutes later Ciego had stopped his horse in front of Nick and Heath.

"What's up? Why are you riding like your tail's on fire?" Nick asked, concerned something was wrong with the family back at home.

"I'm not sure, Senor Barkley, but your wife sent me."

Nick's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. He braced himself and asked, "What is wrong? Did something happen at the house?"

"Not that I know of Senor, but she insisted that I come and tell you that the wolf will be in town tomorrow." Naturally, not understanding the message, Ciego added, "It makes no sense to me."

"The wolf?" Heath turned his face towards his brother. "What is she talking about? What is going on?"

It was all Nick could do not to start yelling. "Idiot wasn't supposed to be out west for another few months, and then it was supposed to be in Sacramento, not here." After a few intense moments of silence, Nick told Ciego to go home. "But don't repeat what you told me. Please,"

"Senora Hannah, she ask the same thing. I trust you, Senor Barkley. I will say nothing." Ciego turned his horse and rode away, though at slower pace than before.

One Ciego was gone, Nick turned to Heath, who had a puzzled look in his eyes, and let out a long drawn out sigh. If Macklin was making an appearance in town, Nick knew he and Hannah needed to open up to his family. "We need to talk, but not near the men." Nick headed for one of the few trees in the area; Heath followed. Soon Nick was sitting at the base of the tree with his eyes closed while Heath sat a couple of feet away, waiting patiently for his brother to start speaking.

When Nick talked, Heath felt lightning shoot through him. "The wolf is a name Hannah and her late cousin call *Tyler Macklin."

` Heath's eyes widened and he felt an undeniable anger rise up in him. "Did he pull you into something like he did Jarrod and insist you keep the family in the dark again? Doesn't he ever stop and think about people's feelings? For that matter," Heath glared at Nick, "after what happened last time, why didn't you think about our feelings?"

"Macklin didn't ask me to get into anything." Nick fought to hold his own frustration and anger in, not easy with his nature being what it was. "But, his arrogance and unwillingness to listen to Hannah's sister is what led up to it. Look, I know it would have been nice if I had come home, sat down and told everyone everything from the start…especially after the way I acted after what we all went through when Macklin pulled Jarrod into that elaborate trick of his." Nick lifted his hands up and rubbed his eyes before continuing. "I just didn't know how to do that. Not only has Hannah had to deal with more grief that should have ever existed, there's more stress ahead of her. Even if that wasn't the case, I promised a dying man I'd say nothing-not even my own family- and do all I could to protect Hannah and Chad… at all cost. That is, unless circumstances flat out demanded it."

Heath's eyebrows turned downward and asked, "What stress? Protect them from whom?"

Nick nodded. "It's a long story Heath. However, you might as well be told up front our third cousin, Jeremiah Barkley, was Chad's father. And, no, none of the family ever met him but me, and that was only twice. He lived in Tennessee before moving to Wyoming. I met him during the war; once at Shiloh and once in a small skirmish when our units fought side by side."

Heath stared. "He's hasn't been dead all that long from what I hear. Isn't it kind of soon for his widow to remarry, and why give Jarrod the paper you did if Chad's last name is already Barkley."

"Hannah wasn't Jeremiah's wife. He and the woman he was with never married and never agreed to be married. That woman was Hannah's sister. That made him illegitimate and robbed of the Barkley name. " Nick took a deep breath and then said, "She, her cousin, her sister and Jeremiah were all supposed to testify against Charles Crown in a few months in Sacramento. Hannah's still planning on doing that. However, as far as Macklin and anyone else involved are concerned she's disappeared, and no one knows where she, or her nephew, are."

"If Macklin's going to be in town tomorrow, he's going to be talking to Jarrod. You know he is. He'll find out she's on the ranch or see in her town." Then, almost in an afterthought, Heath, who felt his heart go out even more to Chad, asked, "Is Hannah really your wife?"

Nick took a deep breath and then said, "Yes, she's Mrs. Nicolas Barkley. Chad deserves the Barkley name; it would have been his if Jeremiah and Hannah's sister had a bit more sense. "He wasn't surprised when his brother, who had heard what Nick wasn't saying, shook his head and said nothing. Nick continued, "With Macklin coming, we'll need to tell you everything. I won't have any of you left in the dark if he's going to be around, not even for a minute. Would you go to town with the men, cover the cost of their drinks? I'll head straight home and talk to Hannah. Once you get home," he said as he rubbed the sides of his head, "we'll tell the whole ugly story." The fact that he was beginning to hope there would be more to his marriage in the future Nick saw no reason to discuss.

Heath didn't know what the family was going to hear, but he could see how stressed his brother was. Standing up, he put his hand on Nick's shoulder and said, "I told you once I'd be here for you. I still mean it; no matter what the story is. I'll go talk to the men; you go home."

Nick didn't have to be told a second time.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Previously:

 _Heath didn't know what the family was going to hear, but he could see how stressed his brother was. Standing up, he put his hand on Nick's shoulder and said, "I told you once I'd be here for you. I still mean it; no matter what the story is. I'll go talk to the men; you go home."_

Nick didn't have to be told a second time.

 **~oOo~**

Jarrod, Victoria and Audra were all sitting at the breakfast table when Nick walked into the house. Hannah and Chad would have been with them, but the young boy was running a slight fever; Hannah was up in his room tending to him. Knowing the men usually went to town before coming home-and that they weren't due back in town for a couple of hours, all three Barkleys felt a great deal of concern when Nick appeared. They might not have only Nick wore such a serious look upon his face.

"What's wrong?" Victoria asked the question just as Audra went to ask it; her echo fading before Nick could answer.

"Where's Hannah?" Nick asked looked around the table.

Victoria gave a brief explanation, one which naturally had Nick instantly worried about the boy. However, he knew he had to deal with one thing at a time. "When are you going into the office?" Nick looked at Jarrod and asked in the most serious tone Jarrod had ever heard Nick use. Well, the most serious in a long time.

"I have a visitor coming in a couple of hours, but I can send word ahead if I'm needed here." Jarrod answered.

Jarrod and the rest of the family felt lightning strike when Nick said, "Macklin can wait. Hannah and I need to talk to you. That is, after I talk to her. Heath should be in the house by then." He went on to send more shock waves through the family as he told them that McColl had, upon being told by Heath that there was a situation at the house that Nick needed to go take care of, talked to the men, and that all the men had agreed to wait for any gathering at the Stockton saloon. "The men told Heath to catch up with me and go home; he wasn't about to tell the men no. Though," Nick looked apologetically at Audra, "If Chad is sick, would you stay with him while Hannah and I talk with Mother and Jarrod? I promise; I'll have Hannah inform you of everything. Afterwards, I'll sit with him for awhile."

"I…I suppose so." Audra, who was shocked to hear Macklin's name mentioned, managed to answer.

"You knew Macklin was coming?" Victoria asked, a fire appearing in her eyes.

"No, I didn't. I only found out last night." Nick replied in a disgusted tone of voice, which helped the fire in his mother's eyes lower just a little. "I have a pretty good idea what he wants though." He then looked at Jarrod. "If, after everything is explained, you want to hit me across the jaw for keeping silent, even if I was doing it to keep a promise to a dying man, I'll more than understand. Only know this," Nick took a deep breath, "it's like I told Heath…Macklin and my paths have never crossed since that day he and his friends made their appearance here at the house. Though tell me this, did you get the paper work filed, the ones that legally declare me to be Chad's father, and that changes his name to Barkley?"

Jarrod was confused. If Nick had never seen Macklin since the day of the feigned court martial, why would Nick know Mr. Macklin was coming to Stockton, and why the urgency he heard in his brother's voice when it came to Chad's situation? Jarrod stood up and pushed back his chair, "Yes, I did. As of four o'clock yesterday, the Barkley name is his. Silas mentioned he was going into town soon; I'll ask him to stop by my office and tell Ella I've been delayed; I'll tell them to simply say I've had family matters come up that require my attention. Macklin can wait whether he likes it or not."

"Thanks," Nick said as he turned, walked out of the room and headed up the stairs. When he reached the nursery, he could see Chad lying in the bed sleeping; Hannah as sitting in the chair next to it. However, when Nick stepped into the room she, without half thinking, flew to her feet and was in his arms faster than water running down the side of a waterfall.

"Nick!" Hannah exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "I hoped you would hurry back once Ciego delivered my message to you."

"You bet I did. I don't trust Macklin…even if his goals have merit to them. Though," he pulled back and gave Hannah a sympathetic look even as he remained serious. "We have to go talk to the family. Macklin's appearance nullifies our promise to your cousin." It was a statement he knew would stir mixed emotions in her, as it did him. He then told her the same thing he'd told his family…that Heath would be in on the family discussion by the time Nick and Hannah joined them in the living room. "Audra will come up when I go back down stairs."

"Chad…" Hannah, who knew Nick was right, automatically looked at the sick child and back at Nick. The fear she felt was something she couldn't have hidden if she'd tried to.

Nick didn't have to be told what she was afraid of and hurried to give her the reassurance she needed. "The child was only known by 'Johnny, as it's all he's ever been called and-as your cousin pointed out-it's the only name that's ever been written down on any record. Macklin's never seen him, and only one of Crown's men has seen him…and that man is dead. Jarrod assures me the boy is now Chad Jonathon Barkley, which means I'm listed as his father. The fact that I claimed him as my own in order to protect him is something Chad can be told when he's older. He's safe; you don't have to worry about him. Now," he pulled her closer and held onto her tightly. "We need to go talk to the family. They have to know what's going on before Jarrod leaves the house."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Eva stood in Jarrod's office doorway and watched as Jarrod, sitting behind his desk, read one telegram after another; they were replies to telegrams that Fred-who had happened to drop by the house at the same time Heath arrived home-had sent off the moment he'd arrived in Stockton, making sure the telegraph officer knew to give any replies to Jarrod when the man stopped by. Upon arriving in town, Jarrod had sent word ahead to his office to that he'd be just a little longer and to apologize to Macklin for the delay…only to find out that Macklin had sent word that he'd be a couple of hours late. That was a miracle Jarrod had been grateful for, as it bought some time for the replies to get to him. Now, after reading each and every one of the returned messages, the fire in Jarrod's eyes grew. By time he threw the last one down on his desk and sat back, Eva could tell Jarrod was furious.

"Tell me when it's safe to come in." Eva said as she looked at Jarrod, wanting to smile, but not daring…as she did not know what had him all fired up.

"Everything Nick and Hannah said was true!" Jarrod leaned forward and looked at the telegrams sitting on his desk. Each and every one of the replies confirmed what Nick and Hannah had told the whole family the moment Heath walked in the door. "The man's over-zealous and arrogant. His actions-or non action-have put my sister-in-law and Chad in danger, and may make it so Crown goes free! Now, he's coming here to try and pull me into his schemes, or something along those lines anyway!"

Eva was lost, and she didn't like not knowing what the other person was rambling about. However, she did know Mr. Macklin was due any minute, so she made an educated guess and said, "If Macklin's that bad of a man, why accept his call today? Why not send him on his way?"

Jarrod shook his head as he gathered up the telegrams. "I want to see how much of what I now know he will confess, or deny. I have to know everything he does before I go back to the ranch."

"Well, I dare say the man won't say anything," Eva said as she walked behind Jarrod and started rubbing his shoulders and said, "If you don't relax. If he sees you like this, he'll most likely get suspicious and say nothing at all. That is, he won't say what you want, or need to hear."

Jarrod relaxed as Eva continued rubbing his shoulder and back. "When he gets here how about conveniently letting it slip that I'm upset because I have learned that Charles Crown is going up on trial. I know why he's on trial and that three of the key witnesses against him were murdered up in Wyoming. Two of them being killed in a fire that was purposely set by one of Macklin's men; a man that had turned bad, and the third being shot inside the corral that was used when auctioning animals." He wasn't about to add that he knew the killer had been found outside the corral fence. That was a fact the sheriff in Wyoming had not sent him. Should Macklin find out about the telegram, Jarrod didn't want the man to start asking how he knew where the killer had fallen.

"You think that will propel Macklin to tell you more than you know?" Eva asked as she finished the rub she was giving Jarrod.

Before Jarrod could answer the two heard the front door to the law building open, Eva quickly left the room. Moments later Macklin was knocking at Jarrod's personal office.

After quickly removing the telegrams off his desk and putting them in the top drawer of his desk, Jarrod called out, "Come in." He wasn't surprised to see Macklin walk in.

"What do you want?" Jarrod asked in a terse voice, simply to back up what he'd told Eva to tell the man.

"Your secretary says you know Crown is up on charges of not only murder and embezzlement, but treason as well; he's been giving aid to men still fighting a war long since over." Macklin said as he sat down.

"I do." Jarrod kept his voice terse as he answered.

"She also told me you also knew of the incident up in Wyoming, or bits of it anyway." Macklin kept his eyes on Jarrod. When the man continued to glare at him, but said nothing, he figured if he was to accomplish his designs in coming to Stockton, he would have to tell Jarrod what happened.

"We had four witnesses up there who were willing to testify against Crown." Macklin listed the same names Nick and Hannah had told him only, as Hannah had confessed, he gave Jarrod her birth name of Lillian Beecher. _"Upon Nick's suggestion, I changed my name. I took the first name of one friend and put it together with the last name of another, coming up with Hannah Ackers as a result. Quite frankly, I was hoping to have it legally changed someday."_ Also, Macklin unknowingly confirmed what Hannah had said about her hair… ***** it had been blonde until she'd dyed it black-which was her idea. "Two of the witnesses were in a small home guarded by one of my men; apparently Miss Beecher had decided to go check on her sister's child; a little boy by the name of Johnny."

"You had no inkling that your man was bad?" Jarrod snapped slightly. His sister-in-law's words rang in Jarrod's ears as he asked the question. _"My sister tried to tell Macklin she'd see Hank Cunnings talking to one of Crown's men earlier in the week!" Tears ran down Hannah's face as she looked at Jarrod, sincere pain shown in them. "He wouldn't listen. That's why I wasn't in the house with her and Jeremiah that night. She'd sent me to check on my nephew who was being watched by a friend. When I got back to town, I was horrified to see the home burned to the ground and…" she choked and shuttered, "I saw Macklin's man and one of Crown's men in the crowd that had gathered. They never saw me as I was standing behind some crates. The moment Crown's man rode away and Macklin's man started talking with the sheriff, I turned and hurried away. Within thirty minutes, I had my nephew and was running to my cousin…who was hiding in another house. We left there and traveled to the auction, hoping to get a couple of horses. We didn't know Crown's man had contacted one of his coworkers and sent him after us when he, somehow, learned where we'd headed."_ _  
_

It was all he could do not to jump over his desk and hit the man as he denied it. "Hank was as good as they come. I had no idea he'd went bad." Macklin lied through his teeth.

"And the man killed at the auction?" Jarrod kept his eyes on Macklin. After denying having be told about the man gone bad, Jarrod was amazed that Macklin backed up what Nick, and the telegrams in his top drawer, said.

"Apparently one of Crown's men was sent to kill Mr. Beecher, who was at the auction with Miss Beecher's nephew. The instructions told the man to kill our witness and to grab the boy. We assume Crown didn't know Miss Beecher was with her cousin, and meant to hold him in order to keep her from testifying." Macklin said.

Jarrod found Nick's words ringing in his ears. _"Crown didn't want either one of them testifying." Nick looked at the family, "But, just before her cousin's assassin died from a bullet fired by me; a shot fired trying to save her cousin, he confessed in quite a loud voice that Crown wanted the child dead as well. Why will always be a mystery us." Nick then told Jarrod and the others that after shooting Crown's man, Nick had knelt down beside Hannah's cousin and talked with him_. _"He reminded me of our conversation when we met…where he'd joked with me I best be careful as 'the boy could be passed off as yours and you could find yourself with a wife and son'…and then begged me to do just that, marry Hannah and pass the boy off as mine. After all, as he put it, 'Crown's men are looking for a blonde headed woman by the name of Lillian and her nephew, Johnny…not a dark haired woman who bore the famous Stockton rancher, Nick Barkley, a son. He also begged us both to promise to not say anything to anyone not even family. That is, not unless it was absolutely necessary. He was afraid we might be talking about the situation and someone would overhear. We weren't going to say anything until the day we had to leave to go to the trial…which was supposed to be in Sacramento in a couple of months. I don't like the idea that Macklin is in Stockton. I don't trust him." He then apologized to the family. "If it weren't for the fact that her cousin was so close to dying, and I knew I had to get her and Chad away from the auction corrals, I never would have promised to say nothing unless something like this happened. I don't know that trouble isn't coming." he paused and then said quietly, "After everything I said and did during, and after, that 'court martial', I would understand if you all wanted us to leave."_

"And you're going to Wyoming in hopes of finding Miss Beecher alive?" Jarrod asked even as he remembered telling Nick that there was no reason for the couple to take Chad anywhere. The family had backed him up on that.

"We've had reports she's been seen up there as early as last week; I'm hoping the rumors are true." Macklin admitted.

" _They're not_ " Jarrod thought as he leaned back and, once again, asked tersely, "So, just why are you bothering me?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

 **Previously:**

" _And you're going to Wyoming in hopes of finding Miss Beecher alive?"_

"We've had reports she's been seen up there as early as last week; I'm hoping they rumors are true." Macklin admitted.

"They're not" Jarrod thought as he leaned back and, once again, asked tersely, "And just why are you bothering me?"

 **~oOo~**

Nick and Hannah, who were standing near the staircase leading up to the second floor of the Barkley home talking to Victoria, turned around when they heard the front door open. Victoria looked as well. All of them frowned slightly, and jerked slightly, as one very unsettled, and obviously, upset Jarrod did something totally out of character…he slammed the door as hard, if not harder, than Nick ever thought of doing.

"Macklin?" Nick growled out the question, as Hannah instinctively took a step closer to her husband. It told everyone she was thinking the federal agent was behind Jarrod's actions and was worried about what was coming.

"Macklin," Jarrod shot back as he headed for the living room. "Where's Heath and Audra?"

"Heath's with McColl." Nick told his brother as the women sat down on the sofa. "Audra took Chad with her out to Will's. What did Macklin want?"

 _"Won't you reconsider?" Macklin stood in Jarrod's office talking in a rather condescending tone. "Crown just might go free if you don't agree to do as I asked. It could get ugly."_

 _It didn't pass Jarrod by that Macklin was using words such as 'might' and 'could'; the man was trying to make him act out fear and worry. Jarrod did not appreciate it in the least and it made more of Hannah's words ring in his ears. "The man is so over focused on getting what he wants that he'll do, or say, anything. He's also very arrogant, thinks he's so important that everyone will listen to him. On top of all that, he's to the point of using people if he thinks it will help him reach his goal. In this case, it's bringing down Crown." As much as Jarrod would love to watch Crown fall, he wasn't going to travel to Wyoming and do what Macklin had asked._  
 _  
"I will be more than happy to attend Crown's trial, even testify of all the dealings I know about-some of which I suspect are illegal." Jarrod leaned back in his chair and glared at Macklin. "And I'll do what I can from Stockton or Sacramento, but leave me out of your games. I had my fill with Alderson. Now, please, leave this office."_  
 _  
Macklin could see Jarrod wasn't budging. He shook his head and headed for the door. Just before leaving, he turned and said, "I'll be at the Cattleman's hotel until tomorrow afternoon; in case you change your mind."_

It was all Jarrod could do not to throw the glass in his hand against the wall; he was that angry at Macklin. "He wanted me to go to Wyoming with him." Jarrod turned and looked at Hannah. "Apparently, you're supposed to be up there at this very moment. He wanted me to go with him and, how did he put it, oh yes," He lifted his glass and said, "use my skills as a lawyer and a man to persuade you to rejoin the team'." Jarrod swallowed down the liquid in his glass.

It didn't take a split second for Nick to grasp what Macklin had suggested, and he exploded as he wrapped a protective arm around his wife and held her close. "He wanted you to seduce her in order to get her to travel back here with you?" It made him, Hannah and Victoria sick to their stomachs, as it did Jarrod.

"You're hot tempered, dear brother, but you're not stupid." Jarrod leaned against the table and stunned them beyond measure when he added, "And he didn't want me to tell Eva about it as well," Jarrod face filled with even more fury, "he said 'secretaries do their job fine, but you have to be careful what you tell them. You never know when they'll share what they know with others around them."

Victoria shook her head as she too felt her anger rising. "For someone who is supposed to know all about those around him, Macklin didn't do his homework very good on that one, did he?" She said, referring to the fact that Macklin would tell Jarrod that Eva wasn't really trustworthy.

"Not this time around he didn't, though," Jarrod took a deep breath and looked at his brother and sister-in-law, "I am concerned that, once in Wyoming, he might come across someone who saw Nick with Hannah-or Lillian-and her cousin. If he does, he just might put two and two together and come back charging as it were." He paused and asked, "Did anyone see you together?"

Nick looked at his wife and then back at Jarrod. "If they did, it would have been after I got off the train, but before I went to the auction yard." He explained how the three had been seemed to click right off the bat as they found themselves talking away like old friends. "However," he continued looking at Jarrod. "No one but Hannah, Chad and I were was around when Crown's man attacked Hannah's cousin."

"What about when you dyed your hair?" Jarrod looked at Hannah. "Did you do that in town?"

Hannah shook her head. "After Nick and I talked my cousin's last request over and decided that it was the best option we had at that time, I and my nephew stayed hidden in one of the auction buildings while Nick went into town and got the items I needed. We didn't leave the auction yard until one in the morning too. Everyone was in bed. At least, I hope they were."

"What are you suggesting, Jarrod?" Nick, who had had a few ideas when it came to what his brother wanted, asked.

Jarrod looked at the family and then answered slowly, "I hate to admit it only I think Nick had the right idea." He wasn't surprised when confused looks appeared on everyone's family. Jarrod started explaining. "Things are pretty slow around the ranch right now. I don't think it would hurt if you took Hannah to the lodge for awhile. We can send Audra and Chad to Texas to visit our very dear friends, Anthony and his wife, Carolyn Peterson. If Macklin does get any ideas in his head, we'll say you took your wife and went on a second honeymoon. If he asks about Chad, we'll simply stress the fact that your son is being taken care of by a family friend." He then stressed the fact that, until he learned exactly why Macklin was going to Wyoming and realized Nick might be right when he said trouble could be coming, he had hoped sending anyone anywhere wouldn't be necessary. "However, I think we should all reconsider it for the sake of keeping Hannah and Chad safe." He then added that, after everything was over, they'd have to correct the papers at the courthouse. "Right now you're both listed as his natural parents. Under the circumstances, I'd agree it needs to stay that way for now. However, unless the two of you have already made this a real marriage, don't consummate your relationship. I won't be able to get it annulled later if you do. " He finished saying that he, Heath or McColl would make sure to check in on the couple every few days, just to play it safe.

Heath (who had entered the house while Jarrod was talking) and Victoria both agreed and said as much.

Nick looked at Hannah. He could see the torn look in her eyes. He couldn't say he blamed her for being nervous. He wished he knew what to say, but the idea was to keep Hannah safe so she could testify against Crown, and he had the strongest impression that Chad _would_ be fine with Audra in Texas. Also, if they weren't around, the danger to his family was lowered. "I think we need to listen to Jarrod and do as he says." Nick sighed as he did his best to smile at Hannah. "Chad will be fine, and Jarrod, Heath and mother are more than capable of dealing with Macklin, or anyone else, that might come looking if they do get any suspicions."

Hannah didn't like the idea of being separated from Chad, but she knew her husband was right. "I'll do whatever you say is best." She replied as she held onto Nick tightly.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Nick, who had drinks for himself and Hannah, stepped out of the lodge and onto the balcony that was wrapped around the second floor. Hannah sat at the table that set in the northeast corner. She was looking at the scenery before her. Walking over to her, Nick handed her a glass before sitting down opposite.

"He'll be all right. Audra and our friends are great with children." Nick said, assuming she was thinking about her nephew.

"I was only partly thinking about Chad." Hannah gave him a small smile, took the drink and then said, "I was actually thinking that, as much as I no longer care for Macklin, I am actually grateful he did make an appearance in Stockton." She wasn't surprised by the shocked look that appeared on Nick's face. That is, until she added, "It enabled us to talk to your family; they never should have been left in the dark. I hated that part."

Nick leaned his chair against the balcony railing and nodded. "I know. Still, as Jarrod said before we came up here, they might not like the fact that we said nothing only, after learning everything, they understood why."

"They really are the best." Hannah said, remembering how Nick had told her more than once since the two of them had met that he had the best family possible. "Just don't tell my family I said that." Hannah said just before finishing her drink and setting the empty glass on the table in front of her.

Her family, Nick shook his head and asked, due to some of the things she'd said to him in the past, "Will they really disown you once they learn you've taken your sister's son in as your own and married me?" That was one thing he was having a hard time wrapping his head around. Sure, he knew his family would not be happy when he showed up with a wife and son unannounced, nor would they appreciate having been kept in the dark, once they learned the truth, but he had never lived with the fear of being disowned or even not supporting him in whatever way they could.

Hannah closed her eyes for a moment and then let out a half hearted 'humph'. "My sister was the black sheep of the family as it were." Hannah opened her eyes. "At least, that's what my family claimed. Moving in with your third cousin Jeremiah, with no intention of marrying him, only cemented that in their minds. When Chad, or Johnny as my sister called him, was born, my family wouldn't even acknowledge him." She paused and then let out a sad sigh, "I didn't approve of my sister's lifestyle or many things she chose to do, but she was my sister. She also had a lot of good in her. I wanted to help her where I could, and I couldn't do that if I treated her the way the rest of the family was. So," she shrugged her shoulders, "I went behind my family's back and communicated with her and, sometimes, wired her money when she needed it. My word, it's not like she was using the money for anything illegal, or that she never paid me back. As it was, they are barely talking to me because my sister, Jeremiah, my cousin and I happened to cross paths and overhear Crown and one of his associates talking. As I told you, it was that conversation; the one we were going to testify about when the three of them were killed."

"And Crown? They didn't want you to help bring that man to justice?" That really boggled Nick's mind.

"Nope," Hannah said with disgust in her voice. "Didn't want me to get involved, wanted me to 'turn my back on my sister and her bastard, and live my life clean, minding my own business'." She then turned her face away from the scenery and looked at Nick. "But how could I do that when it would mean letting a guilty man walk away and do who knows what else to the innocent people around him. And how I turn on my sister after being the only family she had to lean on?" She went on to say that she had told her family, as politely as she could that-as much as she loved them-she could not do as they asked.

Nick couldn't help but smile. He liked her attitude. Though, the smile faded just a little as he asked, "And our marriage? How will they handle it?"

Hannah didn't say anything as she gazed upon Nick, running every minute through her mind since meeting him. The marriage to him had started out as a marriage in name only, a way to protect herself and Chad. A relationship that could be easily annulled later. Only, somewhere along the way, she realized her heart had crossed the line. "I'd say what our marriage becomes is up to us, not them. Real question is do you want to keep a wife when you know we'll-most likely-never be accepted by them?" Hannah replied, as she allowed the feelings she'd developed towards Nick to show in her eyes.

Nick inhaled sharply, as she did so. " _However, unless the two of you have already made this a real marriage, don't consummate your relationship. I won't be able to get it annulled later if you do."_ Jarrod's words came back to the hot tempered rancher, but he simply pushed the words aside and effortlessly moved to Hannah's side. Somewhere between the vows they'd exchanged in Wyoming to the moment Jarrod walked in and slammed the door Nick realized he'd fallen in love with Hannah. "Your family is blind. The moment this ordeal is over, what do you say about taking our vows again and not in front of just a judge and his half-awake mother?" Nick asked as he leaned forward, praying he wouldn't hear any objection.

Hannah's only answer was to wrap her arms around his neck as she melted into the kiss being offered by her very trustworthy and handsome husband. Her heart fluttered and her skin flushed as the kiss deepened. When he lifted her out of the chair and headed back into the lodge, Hannah offered no objection.

 **~oOo~**

Macklin did his best not to cuss as the train he was travelling on screeched to a halt. Why on earth was it stopping in the middle of nowhere? He didn't have to wait but a few moments to find out, as one of the conductors strolled through and told the passengers there was some debris on the tracks that needed to be removed. "We shouldn't be but ten minutes or so." The conductor told them just before exiting the car and disappearing into another.

"Just my luck," Macklin thought as he looked out the window. As he waited his mind turned back to Jarrod and the rest of the Barkleys. He started cursing. Maybe he should have called off that charade and came up with something else. He had counted on Jarrod Barkley's help as the man seemed to have a way of attracting women's attention; Macklin had seen that first hand back in Washington. "Oh well, I can be just a persuasive." Macklin told himself as he fell asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Laurels

Chapter Thirteen

 _A/N I have researched just enough of the history of Lovell, Wyoming to know it existed in the eighteen seventies. However, I do not know the size etc so…I'm using writer's liberty on this chapter. I'm also using writer's liberty when it comes to train stations and their locations. Also, I don't know if there is a Grantsville in Wyoming or not. I haven't checked._

 _Previously: He had counted on Jarrod Barkley's help as the man seemed to have a way of attracting the women's attention; Macklin had seen that first hand back in Washington. "Oh well, I can be just a persuasive." Macklin told himself. "Besides, I guess I should be grateful he refused. This way I can get all the credit."_

 _Macklin continued to tell himself that as he fell asleep._

 **~oOo~**

Macklin, who had gotten off the train at Grantsville and bought a buggy and a couple of horses from a nearby livery stable, now pushed the horses northward. He told himself that the sooner he got to Lovell, the sooner he could start searching for Lillian Beecher. He just hoped his time would not be wasted. Though, the longer he'd travelled down the road, the more Macklin had gotten the impression he was being watched and followed. He didn't like that, and he'd stopped more than once in order to try to see if he could catch sight of whoever was keeping an eye on him. He'd finally pulled the buggy behind some huge boulders and waited for almost an hour in order to catch whoever it was, but they'd never made an appearance. Finally, as he drove the buggy into Lovell, he once again got the impression he was being followed. "Careful, man," he muttered only to himself, "If you're not careful, you'll be searching for more than a missing witness." Then, again, if he'd lost his mind, he wasn't about to admit it.

From where he sat on his horse, a single man watched as Macklin climbed out of the buggy and disappeared into Lovell's livery stable. It hadn't been easy tracking the man without getting caught…and mighty boring as he'd waited for Macklin to climb back into the buggy and leave the boulder that he'd been stupid enough to think could hide him and his mode of transportation.  
 _  
_ _"Are you crazy?" Jarrod asked as he and Eugene, who had just finished up another semester of school and returned home a mere four hours ago to learn all that had been going on in his absence, watched Nick and Hannah drive away and listened to what his youngest brother had planned._

 _"Look," Eugene turned on Jarrod and spoke evenly and calmly, "if the family is going to help Nick and Hannah, we need to know any information Macklin actually gets. It's just slow enough around here that Heath and McColl can run things. If that wasn't the case, Nick and the rest of you would have come up with something else. And," He added, "don't tell me Heath and McColl need my help. I'm not buying it."_

 _"Mother's not going to like it." Jarrod said, and then laughed as Eugene told him to have her talk to Nick if she wanted to complain about Eugene's trip to Wyoming.  
_  
 _"After what you've told me, I can see why they said nothing to the family when they arrived home." Eugene said as he started to walk away, "But if my trailing Macklin is that big a problem, Mother can go after someone esle. I won't be here." He wasn't surprised when Jarrod chuckled and then, grudgingly, agreed his baby brother was right when he said the family needed any information Macklin might get in Wyoming._

Eugene, who had donned an eye patch, beat up old brown hat and disguised himself in other ways, made his way to town. Even if Macklin had never seen him; he wasn't taking any chances. Doing his best to appear relaxed, he made his way to the livery stable. As he had hoped, Macklin had left by the time Eugene walked into the stable.

"May I help you, sir?" An elderly, white haired, gentleman who was as thin as a rail asked as he stepped towards Eugene.

"Name's Jim," Eugene said, not wanting anyone in Lovell to have his real name. "I'm trying to find a friend, calls himself Macklin." Eugene started to describe the man-to ensure it looked as if he had no idea where the man was-only to be interrupted by the elderly gentleman whose name turned out to be Hank Barns.

"Your friend left here not three; maybe four, minutes ago. He was heading to the saloon." Mr. Barns said and then went back to work.

"I'd have thought a man like that would go elsewhere," Eugene thought as he walked out of the livery stable and headed for the saloon.

 **~oOo~**

Jarrod walked into the Billiard room, having arrived home from Stockton; he'd picked up the mail and received a telegram from Texas. It simply read 'Packages arrived safely STOP Anthony'; the fact that his sister and nephew were safely hidden away in Texas was a relief to Jarrod. However, he stopped in his tracks as he saw the French doors open and his mother standing out on the veranda. As Jarrod had told his baby brother, she had not been happy when she'd learned why Gene had left when he'd just arrived home and where he was going.

"Quiet tonight," He said as he walked through the room and out onto the veranda, stopping alongside his mother. "Feels both nice and strange," When his mother didn't answer, Jarrod reached out and covered her hands, which were clasped together as she rested her lower arms on the railing that surrounded the veranda. "Everything will be fine; you'll see."

Victoria turned her head slowly and said with a rather exasperated tone of voice, "Why it is that my sons can't seem to go three or four months before they're involved in a situation that could prove the death of them-or others?"

Jarrod gave her a half smile and replied, "I assume you're talking anything from the trouble with the railroad, to the fake court martial, to Nick granting a dying man his request and marrying a woman he's never met before, to Eugene coming home from school only to go running off to Wyoming to play Macklin's shadow?"

Victoria's eyes filled with a look that screamed 'Don't patronize me! You know full well that's exactly the case…and you can throw in a few other incidents' as she said, "Nick's not going to hide up at that cabin for long. You know that. He and Hannah won't like the fact that we're, most likely, dealing with a share of a mess that they wanted to keep us out of." When Jarrod started to say he had been the one to suggest Nick take Hannah and hide her up at the lodge, Victoria stopped him. "He's like a couple of other Barkley men I know. He'll want to protect Hannah, but he won't like the idea that we're putting ourselves in the middle, and he's not here to help us. He'll want to change that." She then removed her hands from Jarrod's and threw up her hands, "I think I'm going to start giving every one of my white hairs a name…and the first seven are going to share names with my own family members!"

"Seven?" Jarrod looked at his mother with confusion on his face. "Don't you mean six, or are you adding Hannah to the list now since she and Nick are married?"

"I wasn't doing that, but I might as well add her so that would make it eight… nine counting Chad." Victoria answered. Again, Jarrod looked at her in confusion until she told him rather bluntly that Nick got an extra one. That comment made Jarrod roar with laughter before continuing to talk to his mother.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

 _ **Excerpt from Ch 13**_ _: "Your friend left here not three; maybe four, minutes ago. He was heading to the saloon." Mr. Barns said and then went back to work._

"Must be thirsty," Eugene thought as he walked out of the livery stable and headed for the saloon.

 **~oOo~  
**  
Eugene was sure every free space in the saloon was filled with smoke and the smell of alcohol. All right, not that bad, but it was close. He looked around. It didn't take too long to spot Macklin. He and another man, who had just sat down at the table Macklin was at, were drinking beers. That part surprised Eugene as he thought Macklin would have preferred something that was "higher class". Though, the youngest Barkley didn't dwell on that as he made his way to a nearby table and sat with his back to Macklin and the stranger with him. Eugene was pleasantly surprised, and grateful, that in spite of the crowd in the saloon, he could still make out the majority of what Macklin and the stranger who had joined him were saying. It was all Eugene could do to not gasp or let out any sort of reaction that Macklin and his friend could see when he heard what the two had to say.

"Are they onto you yet? Have you found her yet?" The stranger asked as he learned towards Macklin."

"Of course not!" Macklin hissed. "If I had, would I be here? I was hoping you'd seen her; I heard she'd been sighted up here."

The stranger let out a disgusted snort. "I heard the same thing; however, I haven't been able to find her." He paused then stressed, "We've got to find her! The remaining witnesses are damaging enough. Her testimony will not only lock the door, but throw the key away!"

"Don't you think I know that!" Macklin hissed again. "My word, I even went as far as trying to get Jarrod Barkley to come up here with me, thought he could persuade her to stop hiding!"

"Jarrod Barkley? The famous Stockton attorney? Are you crazy? Even if he'd consented to come up, he'd never have helped us. From what I hear that man can smell trouble a mile away! He'd have found out, sooner or later, you're one of Crown's 'good men'." The chuckle that came from the other man sent chills down Eugene's back, "You need to be more careful. You sure he wasn't onto you?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Macklin snapped and then let out an eerie laugh, "He, like everyone else, still thinks I'm on the side of the Federal Government. Now, we need to find that woman and silence her once and for all!"

"What about the boy?" The man asked only to have Macklin give a disgusted snort.

"That boy is a mere two years old. He can do nothing that will hurt Crown; I don't even know why Crown wants to do him harm!" Macklin shook his head.

"Doesn't matter if we understand or not, we've been paid to make sure they are both buried six feet under!" The man barked back.

Eugene was stunned to say the least, but he did nothing until the men finished talking and began drinking more. When he was absolutely sure his departure would not raise any eyebrows, he stood up and left the saloon. The first place he headed was the telegraph office. Soon he'd sent off a coded message to Jarrod, afterwards he headed to the livery stable.

 **~oOo~**

"You're not going to help the situation if the two of you come back to the main house right now." Heath, who had traveled to the lodge to check on things, found Nick in the exact frame of mind Victoria had said he would be in.

Nick growled and paced back and forth across the desk. "I feel like I'm hiding and leaving the family to take the heat. I don't like that!"

Heath sighed. He didn't blame Nick for the frustration, but Jarrod was right. If the idea was to protect Nick's wife, it would make things just a bit easier if he stayed hidden with her for the moment. "I would gladly change places with you, but I don't think Hannah would want that. Besides, even if she didn't fight the idea, what will it look like to others? I mean, you're supposed to be on a late honeymoon. Besides, we're all sharing the heat now, no one person is bearing it by themselves."

Nick stopped pacing as he glanced towards the kitchen where Hannah was preparing lunch, and then looked back at his blonde haired brother. "So, anything new? I mean, Macklin hasn't showed back up or someone else inquiring after her or Chad." He nodded towards Hannah while thinking of Chad in Texas with Audra.

"Jarrod got a telegram from Eugene, but I don't know what's in yet. Silas was just bringing it in as I was leaving to come here. I would have stayed and asked him about it, but Mother insisted I come here first. Though, as far as I know Macklin is still in Wyoming." Heath answered. "And, no, so far the only ones to make any comments connected to Hannah are either women upset that their daughters have lost out on a chance to marry into one of the wealthiest families in Stockton, or women relieved they don't have to worry about their daughters looking at you anymore." Heath chuckled trying to divert Nick's tension.

"Oh brother," Nick said as he rolled his eyes. He could very well imagine some of the things being said in that area. "I won't deny I've been enjoying the honeymoon," Nick paused as he couldn't resist smiling, though the smile quickly faded as he grew serious once more and said, "Promise me you'll hightail it up here, or have Duke come, if trouble breaks out. It's one thing to stay here to guard my wife, but if a full blown fight is going to erupt, I need to be fighting with all of you…not hiding up here."

"Don't worry, if I even get an inkling that we might need your help, you'll be sent for." Heath answered just as Hannah appeared in the living room and told the men lunch was ready. "You can join us, Heath."

Heath thanked her but declined, "I'll eat once I get home. I need to get going. Thanks anyway." He then walked out the door, remounted and then rode away.

Hannah, who knew full well how Nick felt, turned to her husband and said, "Come and eat."

"Yes, dear," Nick threw a smile at her as he followed her into the kitchen.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

 _ **Excerpt from Chapter Fourteen:**_

" _Doesn't matter if we understand or not, we've been paid to make sure they are both buried six feet under!" The man barked back.  
_

 _Eugene was stunned to say the least, but he did nothing until the men finished talking and began drinking more. When he was absolutely sure his departure would not raise any eyebrows, he stood up and left the saloon. The first place he headed was the telegraph office. Soon he'd sent off a coded message to Jarrod, afterwards he headed to the livery stable.  
_  
~ **oOo~**

Macklin, who had left the saloon, made his way to the boarding house he was staying at. It was the only two story building on the west side of town. The white picket fence that surrounded it looked as if it might be due to be repainted soon. Unhappy that he may have travelled to Wyoming for nothing, Macklin was too busy cursing his luck to notice the scraggly looking stranger that leaned against the side a building not more than a hundred yards away…on the other side of the street. If he had, he might have turned away from the boarding house and confronted the stranger. As it was Macklin walked through the gate, up the newly replaced steps and disappeared through the brown hardwood door of the boarding house.

For Eugene's part, he was anything but careless. He might be young, but he wasn't stupid. He knew there was a high chance Macklin and the stranger at the bar had other friends around. As much as he wanted to go catch Macklin in some sort of trap and turn him over to the law, Eugene knew there was a high chance Crown had other allies in the area. No, he couldn't meet Macklin on his turf. No, if Eugene was going to continue trailing the man, even chance having to deal with the man face to face, the youngest Barkley knew he'd have to follow Macklin from a distance until both he and Macklin were out of town. Then, if they did cross paths, Eugene prayed like crazy that Macklin would be all alone.

 **~oOo~**

"What?" Heath dropped down into the chair that sat in Jarrod's study and stared at his brother. "Is he sure?" Jarrod had just told the blonde haired cowboy what message their baby brother had sent.

"Macklin's gone bad." Jarrod put the telegram down on his desk and slid it towards Heath, who reached out and caught it before it fell off the desk.

 _"Wolf not for us_ **STOP** _Keeping an eye on him_ **STOP** _E B_ **STOP** "

Heath read the telegram and felt his heart skip another beat. If Macklin caught onto the fact that a Barkley was tailing him…his head whipped up, his eyes locked onto Jarrod's. He didn't have to say a word for Jarrod to know what he was thinking.

"I bought these." Jarrod slid his chair back and pulled his top drawer open, and then pulled out a pair of glasses. Heath was confused until Jarrod explained his reasoning. "After I got that telegram I did a lot more thinking. Hannah's changed her appearance it's true, but these glasses will change them even more. If she'll wear them, she'll be safe enough staying here at the main house with mother, McColl and the others keeping an eye on things. Anything I have to do can be rescheduled. I think you, I and Nick need to go up and take over in Wyoming. Eugene needs to get back here and back to school. I have a friend who can deputize us. Later, after this is all over, we can get their marriage annulled."

Heath couldn't help it; he started grinning from ear to ear as he started laughing and laughing hard.

Jarrod gave him a quizzical look for a split second before he shook his head as he just knew what was coming. He then leaned forward with a knowing look upon his face as he said. "I will take it that we've got ourselves a permanent sister-in-law."

After getting his laughter under control, Heath nodded. "I'd say we should have thought about buying her a pair of glasses before now. If we had, they wouldn't have had to go up to the lodge. As it is, they didn't come right out and say it's a real marriage, but if Nick's admits to enjoying the honeymoon, I dare say that's the case." He paused before growing serious once more. "Before we get Nick and head up to Wyoming, there's got to be a way of getting a list of men working with Macklin. Chances are high that those men-or some of them, have gone bad also."

"Most likely," Jarrod said as he began standing up, "which is exactly why I sent a telegram to a friend of mine in the justice department. I am hoping his reply gets here soon." He then excused himself, saying he was going to arrange to send a message up to the lodge first thing in the morning.

 **~oOo~**

The night wind was blowing gently across the deck as Hannah stood next to the railing; she was looking up at the countless stars. Though she did not know about the message Jarrod was going to be sending up to the lodge the next day, she was feeling restless and uncomfortable. Not knowing what Eugene had found out, or what Jarrod and Heath were planning, she was left to wonder what was coming. The wind blew across her face once more as if to say 'it's all right, I'm here to comfort you'. The crickets started singing; as if they were trying to help her relax too.

"What's wrong?" Nick walked up behind his wife and, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulled her backwards and enveloped her in a firm and loving embrace.

Hannah leaned the back of her head against his shoulder, closed her eyes and sighed. "I don't know; that's the problem. I want to tell myself I'm just nervous about the upcoming trial, and that I hate the things that men like Charles Crown do. Only," she opened her eyes and turned her head towards her husband's face. "I can't shake the feeling that something is going on that we don't know, and I don't like it."

Nick wanted to tell her to relax, and it was just her nerves. Only he couldn't, as he'd been getting the same type of feelings for the past few hours. He knew from past experience that it meant that someone, somehow, was trying to tell him he needed to get ready for trouble. However, he didn't want to face that one until the morning came. "We can't stop time from marching on." He whispered as his mouth found his wife's neck. "But we could make the most of tonight."

Hannah felt a tremor run through her as she turned around to face Nick. It wasn't long until the crickets and the wind had lost their audience.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

A/N I never specified which area of Wyoming Macklin and Eugene are supposed to be in. Since it's been YEARS since I was in that state-and even then it was only one spot, for a week-I turned to my husband for help. Since the story demands mountains, it's now set in the western part of the state.

Also, I am starting to sense at least one death, if not two, in the story. Let's pray like crazy it's just the bad guy/guys.

 **~oOo~**

Macklin, who had intended to head straight for the old abandoned cabin he'd taken over the first time he travelled to Wyoming, instead turned off a side road that ran along the side of a mountain dotted with tall brown pine trees. He might not have, but the nagging feeling he was being watched would not leave. Macklin hoped that, by taking this alternate route, he could actually shake whoever was following him.

For his part, Eugene was in no hurry to confront Macklin and was simply doing what he could not to lose the man's trail, while leaving an easy enough trail for his brothers to follow. That wasn't easy as tracking was Nick and Heath's forte not his. Still, he had managed to find the trail the couple of times he'd lost it. As he thought about his brothers, he didn't know whether or not to sigh or laugh. He had, while waiting for Macklin to leave the boarding house, sent another wire to Jarrod telling him of his plans. His brother's reply rang in Eugene's ears as he once again followed the trail Macklin had left, in spite of trying to cover his tracks.

 _"Don't be stupid_ _ **STOP**_ _Wait in Lovell_ _ **STOP**_ _We are coming_ _ **STO**_ _P"_

However, Eugene didn't feel like he could wait. He felt strongly he had to continue trailing Macklin even if he did hope to avoid actually confronting him until Jarrod and the others were able to join him. That being the case, Eugene left another coded message at the livery stable. He also left the same note with the boarding house just in case the gentleman at the livery stable forgot to give his three brothers the message. Eugene knew the risk he was taking. Then again, Macklin had never met him. In fact, from what Jarrod said, Macklin didn't even know the youngest Barkley even existed.

 _"I noticed your name was not on his list of my family members when he came to my office. I would have said something, but he was so intent on explaining why the government needed my help with Alderson's case that I didn't want to interrupt. I would say I'm sorry, only it didn't seem to matter at the time."_ Jarrod's words to him rang in Eugene's ears once more.

"Well, dear brothers," Eugene said as he followed Macklin's trail off the mountain road and down to a creek and began forming a backup plan…just in case he did run into Macklin, "The fact that Tyler Macklin has never met me might be a good thing even if I am in disguise at the moment." He then, after realizing Macklin had entered the creek and was taking his horse downstream in it, turned his horse in the same direction and continued his journey.

 **~oOo~**

Victoria opened the front door and stepped outside. She could see Hannah standing near the edge of the porch watching Nick, Jarrod and Heath ride away. As Victoria walked up to her daughter-in-law, she wasn't surprised to see extreme anxiety in Hannah's eyes. _"She's my wife and will be for a very long time I hope; there will be no annulment."_ The words her middle son had spoken to her shortly after his arrival home from the lodge repeated themselves in her mind. "They'll be fine. They have each other's backs." Victoria said as she stood next to Hannah.

Hannah did her best to smile, though she was extremely concerned. She had been since Nick told her about Gene's telegram. "Macklin knew what was coming." Hannah turned her head slightly and looked at her mother-in-law. "He knew my sister's death had been ordered, along with the others. He could …." She paused, choking on the words that wanted to come out of her mouth, ones she didn't necessarily want to hear.

"My boys are grown men more than capable of taking care of themselves." Victoria said as she watched Jarrod, Nick and Heath disappear from view. "As is Gene, even if he's younger."

Hannah knew her mother-in-law spoke the truth. Still, she found fear gripping her heart. "I never wanted to bring trouble to your home, to your family."

Victoria sighed when she saw pure pain and guilt fill Hannah's face, especially her eyes. "I may be concerned for my sons. However, I do not blame you for this trouble, nor do they. You didn't bring it. Men like Charles Crown and, apparently, Tyler Macklin did." Concerned was putting it mildly, but the Barkley matriarch didn't want her new daughter-in-law to think that she was being held responsible for another person's actions.

Hannah did her best to smile, though it was hard as she thought on Nick and his brothers going to Wyoming and Gene already there. Her mind also wandered to sister-in-law and Chad still in Texas. _"We could send for Audra and Chad, but I don't think it would be very wise." Nick stood in their bedroom talking to Hannah. "So far, all of the reports that Jarrod has received from the Pinkertons have confirmed one thing…all questions concerning Chad have been focused on Wyoming and California." He then reassured her if he, or his brothers, had any reason to believe Audra or Chad were in danger in Texas, they'd make sure to get word to their friends to get them out of that state._

"Just come home safe," Hannah held onto Nick for all she was worth. "You and your brothers, please,"

"My head tells me I'm not to blame; however, watching them ride away…with no guarantee of what's coming…" Hannah lifted her hand and rubbed her forehead. "It's hard to get my heart to believe it."

Victoria gave her a sympathetic hug and nodded towards the garden, suggesting they go on a walk to simply relax. It was a suggestion Hannah gratefully accepted. She needed to do something besides worry about her husband and brother-in-laws.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

 _ **Excerpt from Chapter Sixteen:**_ _"Well, dear brothers," Eugene said as he followed Macklin's trail off the mountain road and down to a creek and began forming a backup plan…just in case he did run into Macklin, "The fact that Tyler Macklin has never met me might be a good thing." He then, after realizing Macklin had entered the creek and was taking his horse downstream, turned his horse in the same direction and continued his journey.  
_ **  
** **~oOo**

Eugene had tracked Macklin to a lone shack out in the middle of nowhere, or at least it seemed that way to Gene. He remained on his horse on top of a hill overlooking the place Macklin was apparently using while he was in Wyoming. Gene saw a blonde haired young man step out of the front door. Eugene figured the boy was no more than sixteen or seventeen, eighteen tops. He watched as Macklin and the young man talked and then, from the looks and sounds of it, started fighting. Eugene wished he was close enough to make out what they were saying. However, he caught his breath as Macklin whipped out his gun and pointed it at the young man. For a moment, Gene was sure Macklin was going to shoot the boy. Instead the young man barked something at the corrupt federal agent and whirled around and stormed off around the back of the shack. The next second, Eugene saw the boy riding his horse back around the corner of the small building.

"Come on boy," Eugene pulled on his horse and moved farther back up the hill, remaining hidden as he did so. He had to; the young man was heading his way. Eugene hoped that, by moving farther up the hill, he could get the boy without attracting Macklin's attention.

For the young man's part, he was furious at Macklin. However, the man was friends with the lad's family...and they'd never believe the things the young man had learned about Macklin. The boy began muttering to himself, completely unaware that Eugene had dismounted horse, tethered it and climbed on a rock in record time. When Eugene jumped off the rock and hurled himself at his target, the young man never knew what hit him. Eugene had set a fist across his face and knocked him out cold, something he was sure would have surprised his brothers had they been watching.

Gene cursed as he quickly pulled the young man farther into the group of trees that surrounded him; he really hadn't meant to actually render the boy unconscious. Then again; maybe, it was a good thing. At least his prisoner couldn't start yelling. Eugene watched as the boy's horse galloped away from the scene. He would have preferred to use the boy's horse to haul the young man somewhere else…without burdening his own horse. As it was, he had two separate ropes on the side of his saddle; he'd brought them along just in case he needed them. Now, he took them off and secured the young man's arms behind him and tied his legs together. He then wrapped his own bandana around the young man's mouth and tied it behind his head. The last thing Eugene wanted was for his prisoner to alert Macklin to his presence. He then quickly threw the unconscious young man over his horse before mounting himself. He prayed he would be able to put a decent amount of space between himself and Macklin before the boy started regaining consciousness. When he did, Eugene was going to make sure he talked…and talked a lot.

~oOo~

"He did what!" Nick stood in the room he, Heath and Jarrod were renting from the couple who owned the boarding house. Jarrod had just come from the telegraph office, his intention had been to wire the family and let them know they had arrived in Lovell, only to find a coded message from their baby brother waiting for him. The clerk of the boarding house had handed Jarrod the same message, after apologizing for forgetting to hand it to Heath and Nick when they checked in.

"Lower your voice." Jarrod spoke firmly as he gave his hot tempered brother an irritated glare. "You heard me. Gene's tracking Macklin. At least, I'm ninety-five percent sure that's what these," he said as he held up the messages in his hand, "mean. We need to start asking questions. However," Jarrod shook his head, "I have the funniest feeling Gene hasn't handed out his real name. We'll have to come up with a story as to why we're looking for him, only we'll have to use his description when making inquiries."

Heath, who looked deep in thought, asked slowly, "If you're right, and he's changed his name, what's stopping him from changing his appearance?"

"Nothing, I suppose." Jarrod face showed his frustration. "We'll just have to ask about Macklin too….and hope for the best." He headed for the door. Neither one of his brothers said a thing as they followed Jarrod out of the room, though once they were outside and standing on the boardwalk, they started to discuss who would go where. They also discussed how much time they would allow to go by before they met to compare notes.

"I'll go talk to the sheriff. He needs to know what's going on. After that, I think I'll head to the livery stable. How about you two?" Jarrod looked at his brothers.

Nick and Heath split the other businesses between them.

"See you at the saloon in an hour." Nick said as he turned around and headed towards the nearest store.

"Keep your eyes open, and please watch your temper." Jarrod said, even if he didn't know why Nick would have cause to lose it at the moment.

"Don't worry about me. Just go talk to the sheriff." Nick batted his hand through the air and continued walking.

Jarrod would have said something to Heath but he couldn't; the blonde haired cowboy was already half way down the street. Jarrod headed for the sheriff's office; he just hoped the three of them would cross paths with Gene before Macklin realized they knew which side of the fence he had fallen off .


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Jarrod stepped out of the sheriff's office more disgusted with Macklin than ever. _"I'm not surprised to hear that." The sheriff had leaned back in his chair and told Jarrod how Macklin had pushed the line the last time he was in Lovell. "When I saw him ride in this time around, I started keeping my ears and eyes wide open." The sheriff then told Jarrod all he had learned since doing so. "I was going to contact a friend of mine who is a US Marshall, but if you and your brothers have been deputized, I'll let you deal with it."_

"You were in there this whole time? Just what did you find out?" Nick and Heath, who had finished making their rounds, had headed to the sheriff's office when Jarrod had not met them at the saloon. They had been surprised to see Jarrod just coming out of the office, and to learn he'd never made it to the livery stable.

"Macklin might think he's been hiding his tracks well and; maybe, in other states he has. However," Jarrod shook his head, "he hasn't done a very good job in this area." Jarrod went onto to say how the sheriff now strongly suspected Macklin of many illegal activities. "He was going to get his friend to help him investigate, but we're already doing that. What did you two find out?" Jarrod answered as he and his brothers stepped backwards, allowing a young couple to pass by them.

Nick pulled out a paper he had in his vest pocket and handed it to Jarrod. "Those are the names of men that have been seen with Macklin in the past, and they've all done time behind bars. All the store owners I talked to said they wouldn't put anything past the men…including shooting a woman on sight." It had made Nick and his brothers even more grateful Jarrod had thought to add glasses to Hannah's outfit…even if they were corny looking.

"And you?" Jarrod asked as he turned his eyes to Heath.

"Gene's is in disguise." Heath replied as he then gave his brothers the description of Gene's outfit. Afterwards, he waited for the reaction he knew was coming.

"WHAT!" Nick bellowed and then quickly lowered his voice when more than one set of eyes turned in their direction. "How could anyone tell you that?" His eyes were full of worry. If someone knew Gene was in disguise, Macklin either knew it too, or had a high possibility of doing so.

Jarrod's eyes were full of just as much worry. However, before he could question Heath, his blonde haired brother was explaining.

"While Nick was talking to the bartender, I was talking to one of the waitresses. When she found out we were looking for Macklin, she almost quit talking. That is, until I assured we weren't working with him. I asked her if she'd seen Gene…and described him to her." Heath couldn't help but chuckle as he told his brothers, "She hadn't, but she said 'the only stranger that caught my eye was a gentleman wearing a beat up old hat and an eye patch. Call me crazy, but while he looked to be pushing thirty, I couldn't shake the feeling he was wearing makeup to make himself appear older, and that he was actually much younger. Of course, I didn't point that out as it would have been rude. Well, that and people around here think I'm crazy for studying people's faces as it is." He then looked at his brothers as if to say 'do you see what I do?"

"Gene took father's old hat when he left Stockton and he has an eye patch in his room, the one that he used when his eye was hurt and the eye doctor had him wear it last summer! That is, it was in his room before he left home." Jarrod responded quickly.

"Those codes messages," Heath started speaking after a moment of silence. "Was there anything in them that would give us a clue as to which direction our dear brother was heading when he left town?"

Jarrod pulled the messages out from his shirt pocket and read them again. As he did so, two lines jumped out at him. ***** _'Sixty miles in latitude, three hundred to the coast; Treason fled before us, for resistance was in vain.'_ "He's heading west." Jarrod said after reading the lines out loud.

"We best get going then." Heath answered as he turned and headed for the livery stable; they'd left their horses there upon arriving in Lovell.

 **~oOo~**

Gene had made his way to a clump of trees a couple of miles from the shack Macklin was using. He now sat against a tree and watched as the young man who was no longer tied up or gagged, began moaning and sitting up; struggling to get his bearings. Of course, not wanting the young man to attack him or flee, Gene kept a hold of his pistol, even if he had it lying across his lap.

"Who are you?" The young man who was now sitting up glared at Eugene, remembering how stranger had attacked him.

"A man trying to protect his family," Eugene answered and then asked bluntly, "Why did Macklin pull a gun on you, boy?" He wasn't surprised to see both anger and distrust appear in the young man's eyes; if roles were reversed, Eugene knew he'd react the exact same way.

"Name's Henry Cox, not boy!" The young man spat, and then asked in a quieter, but still fierce tone, "What does it matter to you?"

"It might not matter at all, depends on the reason." Gene replied as he bent his legs and rested his arms on his knees.

Henry thought a moment and then shook his head. "Awhile back he hired me to keep my eyes open for anyone who claimed to be looking for him. I was leery of his motives, but my father's been friends with the man for a few years, and pa said if Macklin was asking me to do that the man must have a good reason. Besides, the friendship, my father's been extremely ill. I needed money for the medical bills so I did as Macklin asked." Henry doubled up his fists and then spat out, "But my father has no idea how bad Macklin is; the man has two faces. I was telling Macklin that I wasn't going to work for him anymore. That's when we started fighting; he didn't want to hire someone else. He then pulled out his pistol and threatened to kill my family if I didn't get back to work."

Gene swore silently. Men like Macklin made him sick. "If I give you my horse and a description of my brothers, will you ride back to Lovell and see if you can find them. Tell them everything you've told me and then lead them back here."

Henry's eyes widened. "But Macklin, he'll hurt my family if I do that!"

"Not if I or my brothers stop him first," Gene again urged Henry to do as he said, saying that he would make no move for a few hours at least, hoping his brothers would be with him by that time.

Henry was still afraid, but he wanted Macklin out of his family's life. "Fine, which route do you want me to take to get back to Lovell?"

A/N *These words actually come from an old Civil War song titled Marching Through Georgia, except the one line says; three hundred to the main. I changed 'main' to 'coast' for the sake of the story.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

 **A/N We're going to visit one of my brothers tomorrow. I have no idea what time we'll be back tomorrow night so...I'm posting this tonight.**

 _ **Excerpt from Chapter Eighteen:**_ _Jarrod pulled the messages out from his shirt pocket and read them again. As he did so, two lines jumped out at him. *'Sixty miles in latitude, three hundred to the coast; Treason fled before us, for resistance was in vain.' "He's heading west." Jarrod said after reading the lines out loud._

"We best get going then." Heath answered as he turned and headed for the livery stable; they'd left their horses there upon arriving in Lovell.

 **~oOo~**

Henry Cox, who had been to Lovell and searched for the three Barkley brothers, now pushed Gene's horse back in the direction of Macklin's cabin as fast as he could, keeping his eyes opened wide. Before he'd ridden away Gene had given him a full description of his brothers, and Henry didn't want the miss the gentlemen Gene said were his family. As he rode, he cursed Macklin and all he stood for and himself for not having the courage to tell his father what Macklin was really like. Having allowed himself to get caught up in his thoughts as he passed one large Pine tree after another, Henry almost missed seeing the three men in a clearing off in the distance. As it was, he had to turn around and push the horse even faster. The whole time he was yelling "MISTER BARKLEY" as loud as he could; hoping at least one of them would hear him. He was relieved when he got his desire.

Nick, Heath and Jarrod pulled up on their reins and, stopping their horses, looked in the direction they heard someone calling them…or at least one of them. "Do you know him?" Nick asked as he looked at his two brothers; both shook their heads and replied in the negative.

"We might as well meet him half way." Jarrod said as he pushed Jingo forward; his brothers didn't hesitate to follow. In no time at all the distance between Henry and the three Barkley brothers had been closed.

"Glad you heard me," Henry did his best to smile politely, though his anxiety clearly showed through.

"Who are you, what do you want and," Nick, who realized just what horse Henry was riding, added in an even louder tone of voice, "why do you have my brother's horse?" After all, if this man had Eugene's horse, it couldn't be a good thing. His reaction didn't faze Henry as Gene had warned him about Nick just before Henry rode off, nor did the suspicious looks Jarrod and Heath were giving him; Harry had expected that.

"Your youngest brother lent him to me and sent me to fetch the three of you; actually, he sent me back to Lovell. However, when you weren't there, I started back." He caught his breath, as he was talking rather fast, "I recognized the three of you from his descriptions. Boy am I glad to find you three!"

"Where is he!" Nick again snapped, a part of him wanting to slap his baby brother for tailing Macklin all by himself.

"Watching Macklin's cabin; at least, he was when I left him." Henry answered as he quickly explained everything. "Macklin's more than bad. Like I told Gene, the man's only has one person in mind, and that's himself. Wouldn't surprise me if he was trying to get on top of the ladder in his world as it were,"

"Would you lead us there, make sure we don't miss it?" Jarrod leaned forward in his saddle and asked as he started getting strong impressions he and his brothers needed to hurry…and hurry fast.

A part of Henry didn't want to; he was worried about his family and wanted to go home. However, the majority of him knew if Macklin was to be stopped for sure, Henry needed to make sure Gene wasn't alone. "Sure," he answered as he pushed Gene's horse forward. Nick, Jarrod and Heath quickly followed.  
 **  
~oOo~**

Gene, who had kept an eye on Macklin's shack, watched as Macklin exited the shack and headed for his horse. At first the youngest Barkley cursed and wondered what was keeping his brothers and Henry. Then again, there was always a chance the young man had changed his mind and simply taken Gene's horse and went home. Then, as Eugene watched Macklin ride away, the thought came to him he could slip into the shack and look around. With the sun showing signs of going down, the thought he might actually find some incriminating evidence propelled Gene to move slowly and cautiously away from his hiding place once Macklin was out of sight, down the hill and up to the door of the shack. The whole time he was keeping an ear out for the sound of anyone returning. He didn't want to be caught off guard.

Reaching out, Gene took a hold of the door handle and slowly opened it up. He carefully peeked inside, hoping to find no one else in the shack. He didn't. Quickly, he moved around the shack…it had a small couch that sat against east wall, a couple of cots that lined the north wall and a huge, black pot belly stove in the northwest corner of the room. There were shelves that lined the west wall and a table that sat next to the south wall, and next to the door he'd entered through. There were also some drawers that sat off in the northeast corner; they sat next to a small desk. He was also surprised to see a back door between the two cots. He would not have thought a place this small would have a back exit.

Gene looked from the shelves to the desk and decided to check the shelves first; as a man like Macklin might try to hide anything incriminating somewhere besides an obvious desk. Soon he was moving things around on the shelf, taking small jars down and looking through them. He was thrilled when he opened one and pulled out some papers …all of which turned out to be records of dealings with Crown, along with notes Macklin had made concerning his plans to get rid of Crown and take his place. However, most importantly, one of papers had every single name of men who were working with Macklin and where they were at.  
 _  
"Can't put these in any obvious place either,"_ Gene thought as he quickly folded the papers and slid them into the side of one of his boots. He then put the lid back on the jar before returning it to its spot. He then moved swiftly over to the desk…just in case Macklin had been crazy enough to put something in it as well. However, he had no more gotten the door open and begun his search when he heard the back door open and the sound of a pistol's trigger being pulled backwards.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

 _ **Previously:**_ _"Can't put these in any obvious place either," Gene though as he quickly folded the papers and slid them into the side of one of his boots. He then put the lid back on the jar before returning it to its spot. He then moved swiftly over to the desk…just in case Macklin had been crazy enough to put something in it as well. However, he had no more gotten the door open and begun his search when he heard the door open and the sound of a pistol's hammer being pulled backwards._

 _~oOo~_

Nick, Jarrod, Heath and Henry pushed their horses back towards the shack that Henry told them Macklin was using; a shack that Henry had informed them the man obtained after the original owner mysteriously disappeared. Henry admitted he thought Macklin and foul play were involved, but he couldn't prove it.

While they rode, all three brothers thought about their younger brother and the fact that they wished he had been able to simply visit at home and then go back to school; a matter that was weighing especially heavy on Nick's mind.

 _ **Flashback**_

" _Don't go blaming yourself for Gene's involvement in this. For that matter, don't blame yourself for any of us having a hand in it." Jarrod stood inside the lodge, having decided to fetch his hot tempered brother himself and tell him everything. "We should have been involved from the beginning." He held up his hand when an even more upset look appeared on Nick's face. "And stop blaming yourself for that too. You did what you had to; we all understand that. Only, now it's your turn to understand. Whether we like it or not, each and every member of this family has a hand in this situation. Jarrod gave Nick a smile as he nodded towards the main bedroom in the lodge, "You need to go back in there and tell your wife what's going on so she can hurry and pack. Mother is expecting Hannah back at the main house."_

 _Nick, who had not really been surprised to hear all that Jarrod had told him, sighed and let out a slow breath. How he hated the things men like Crown and Macklin did; someone always wound up hurt or worse. "All right, but when we catch up with Macklin, you and Heath best stand in front of me or I'll…"_

" _Don't say it, Nick." Jarrod reprimanded Nick, but then had his brother chuckling when he added, "I was already thinking the same thing."_

 _ **End of Flashback**_

The tall oak trees, green shrubbery and the few signs of wildlife all whizzed passed by the Barkley men and Henry as their horses' hooves pounded the brown dirt path they were travelling on. They did not have time to take pleasure in those things at the moment and they all knew it.

"The shack is…" Henry started to speak as they heard a couple of shots ring out. It made all the hairs on their necks stand up straight, and they pushed their horses even faster.

When the shack came into view, they could see a black haired, medium sized gentleman running away from the building. Actually, he was more like running and skipping as he held onto his right leg.

Without half thinking, Nick pushed his horse in the direction of fleeing stranger who was apparently injured, yelling over his shoulder as he did so, "Get to that shack and see if Gene's in there!"

Neither of his brothers or Henry argued with Nick as they all three made a beeline for the building, leaving the stranger to be dealt with by the hot tempered rancher.

The stranger, a forty-four-year-old man by the name of Jack Roberts, looked over his shoulder when he heard the sound of a horse approaching. He starting cursing, turned around knowing he couldn't outrun the rider, and pulled out his pistol. However, before he had a chance to pull the trigger, Nick had whipped out his own gun and fired, though he made sure he didn't kill the man outright. Jack fell to the ground, seconds later Nick was kneeling beside him demanding to know where Macklin was.

"Macklin," Jack let out a disgusted chuckle as he stiffened, his back arching ever so slightly, "He's still looking for that woman! I told him she wasn't in the area, but he decided she was…decided there was no way he travelled back here for nothing. I thought he'd be here. I guess he must have headed back to Lovell; after all, he did say he just knew she would show up at the hotel sooner or later. I was supposed to be going there myself, but I decide to come here. We had some very important papers hidden in a can, didn't want to chance them being found." The man coughed and held onto his side. "What good it did me; the papers weren't in any can. He must have taken them with him." The man paused as pain shot through him once more. "I told him to stop chasing her, just to wait until she heads to the courtroom in California, but " The man gasped again and then snarled, "he won't give up on looking for her; he can't afford to let her go free."

"Why not?" Nick asked even though he figured it was because Macklin feared Crown would kill him. However, he was stunned to learn Henry's guess about Macklin was right when the man looked up at him and, seeing no reason to keep quiet now, laughed as he struggled to raise up on one elbow. He then pointed his finger at Nick and said, "Crown thinks he has an ally in Macklin, only he doesn't. Macklin only wants Crown's trust so he can bring the man down and take his pla…" Jack stiffened and gasped for air for the last time, and then collapsed once more.

Nick reached down and felt the man's pulse; there was none. Then, more than anxious to find his baby brother, Nick stood up, threw the man over the back of Coco and remounted his horse.

~oOo~

While Nick had been taking care of Jack Roberts, his brothers and Henry had practically flown off their horses and rushed through the swinging open door of the cabin. The three men froze for a split second, as they had their worst fears confirmed…Gene lay on the floor unconscious and bleeding from a bullet wound to the back.

"Gene!" Jarrod and Heath flew to their brother's side, wondering how on earth the man Nick had went after had managed to get shot in the leg if he'd shot Gene from behind.

"Here," Heath removed the bandana he was wearing and handed it to Jarrod. "Use this to get the bleeding stopped."

By the time Jarrod and Heath had stopped the bleeding, moved Gene to one of the cots, removed his shirt and his boots, Nick was entering the shack. One look at Jarrod and Heath taking care of Gene, and Henry kneeling on the floor looking rather ill, and Nick swore and then asked, "How is he?"

"He's still breathing." Jarrod answered as he looked at both his brothers. "One of us needs to go get a doctor."

"I can do that." Henry, more than eager to do what he could to help the Barkleys, spoke up. "I'm going with him." Nick barked, and then explained what had happened. "I've got to go talk to the sheriff and," his eyes filled with fire, "if I'm lucky, I'll run into Macklin."

"Take these." Jarrod stunned Nick when he handed him the very papers the dead man had been looking for. "Gene had them in one of his boots." Jarrod explained and then turned his attention back to his baby brother.

Nick again cursed men like Roberts, Macklin and Crown. "Don't wait on me! Get that doctor!" he snapped at Henry who was waiting for him by the door.

"Yes, sir!" Henry turned and, opening the door, ran for his horse.

When it came to Nick, he knew he need to do two things. One, take the dead man to the sheriff and; two, move as fast as possible. That being the case, Nick decided to throw the corpse on top of Gene's horse. It would be better than making Coco carry double the weight than he was used too.


	21. Chapter 21

Twenty One

 _ **Excerpt from Chapter Twenty:**_

" _Don't know, but he's still breathing." Jarrod answered as he looked at both his brothers. "One of us needs to go get a doctor."_

" _I can do that." Henry, more than eager to do what he could to help the Barkleys, spoke up._

" _I'm going with him." Nick barked, and then explained what had happened. "I've got to go talk to the sheriff and," his eyes filled with fire, "if I'm lucky I'll run into Macklin."_

 _ **~oOo~**_

It was close to nine o'clock at night when Nick rode back into Lovell; the doctor and Henry were just coming out of the doctor's office. For the hundredth time, Nick swore at men like Macklin. In fact, if it wasn't for the necessity of taking the dead man to the sheriff and explaining everything, Nick would have simply started hunting Macklin down. As it was, he put 'that chore' on the top of his 'to do list'. That is, on the top after he visited with the sheriff. That being the case, he headed straight for the sheriff's office. However, he had only gotten half way there when the sheriff and his deputy stepped out of the café which had just closed.

Nick stopped his horse and dismounted, unsurprised to see the looks of both shock and curiosity in both lawmen's eyes. "He drew on me first." Nick said, hoping the sheriff would believe him.

"Don't surprise me," the sheriff finally said as looked away from the dead man. "Mr. Roberts wasn't the most popular man around here and for good reason."

"Why did he draw on you?" the deputy, a young, twenty-two-year-old man with red hair by the name of Peter Long, asked. There was questioning tone in the deputy's voice and an accusing look in the man's eye as he looked at the wound in Robert's leg-as if to say 'wasn't one shot enough'? It made a small part of Nick want to slap him. He might have thought about it, but the sooner he finished up with the two lawmen, the sooner he could start hunting Macklin. "I didn't shoot him in the leg; someone else did." How Gene had managed that was something Nick was determined to ask his baby brother the first chance he got. "The man didn't like me." Nick said as he moved his vest just enough to show the badge Jarrod's friend had given them. He had to chuckle softly as the young man's eyes widened and his mouth closed.

"The man shot my baby brother before I started chasing him." Nick looked at the sheriff, and then asked if the three of them could talk somewhere more private. That is, after the sheriff told Nick where the undertaker was.

"Of course," The sheriff who was throwing his deputy a small glare, nodded towards the young man. "He can take our friend to Mr. McKay's. Won't you?"

"Yes, sir," Peter took the reins Nick handed him and hurried down the street while Nick led his horse towards the sheriff's office; the sheriff walked alongside Nick though neither one said a word.

~oOo~

Hannah stood on the verandah looking up at the sparkling diamonds in the sky; well, the stars looked like diamonds to her. Once again the gentle wind and the crickets were trying to calm her troubled nerves. Only this time, she sighed, she knew Nick wouldn't be walking up behind her. Oh how she still wished he could. She didn't like this, not knowing which way the ball would bounce as it were. She just wanted Macklin dead or behind bars, and her husband, along with his brothers, home safely. Only when Victoria walked onto the Verandah and stood next to Hannah did the young woman turn her head. She might not have only she didn't want to feel like she was being rude to her mother-in-law.

"Sorry, I'm not much company tonight." Hannah said as she thought how she'd been even quieter than normal. Except to thank Silas and Victoria for the wonderful food, Hannah had actually said very little during dinner.

"Can't say I was any better," Victoria admitted after a moment and then turned her face forward. After another pause, she shocked Hannah when she said, "I owe you an apology."

Hannah stared at her mother-in-law, unable to think of one thing that Victoria had done that was offensive. She was unsuccessful. "You've been nothing but kind and generous since the day Nick brought Chad and I here. What on earth do you need to say you're sorry for?"

Victoria turned to face her daughter-in-law and gave her a half smile. "For the things I thought when you first walked into our home with Chad in your arms."

Hannah shook her head as she reached out and took a hold of the railing that surrounded the verandah. "I can easily think of a hundred things that ran through your mind. Only you're wrong; you've got nothing to be sorry about. I mean, what were you supposed to think?" Hannah sighed and then said quietly, "I'm just grateful all of you proved Nick right and backed us up when we were free to tell you everything. I know a few people who would have still throw us out." She didn't know where they'd have gone if the Barkleys had done that.

Since Nick had told his mother all about Hannah's family, and how they'd treated Hannah's sister and Chad, Victoria didn't have to ask her daughter-in-law who she was thinking of when she made her last comment. "I might not always agree with my sons' decisions, but it would take something rather drastic to get me to throw them out." Victoria took a deep breath and then nodded towards the French doors. "We should be getting inside; it's getting rather late."

Hannah shook her head. "I've already tried laying down, but I keep getting an uncomfortable feeling someone's been hurt. I've been trying to relax, telling myself it's just my nerves."

Victoria said nothing at first, her mind going back in time a few hours before. She'd been standing in the kitchen, near the sink, talking to Silas. As they'd talked Victoria had stiffened as she felt a strong burning sensation spread throughout her entire back. That had been unnerving as it was only she had seen a lightning fast image of her sons…and something was not right. However, she wasn't going to tell Hannah any of that. The poor woman was looking more than stressed as it was. "If something's happened we need to know about, one of them will wire us. Now, let's get inside and do what we can to get the rest we need." She then turned around and walked back into the house.

Hannah looked up at the sky, sent up a silent prayer and then disappeared inside the house. Her mother-in-law was right; they needed some rest.


	22. Chapter 22

Twenty Two

 _ **Excerpt from Ch 21**_ _"_

 _"Yes, sir," Peter took the reins Nick handed him and hurried down the street while Nick led his horse towards the sheriff's office; the sheriff walked alongside Nick though neither one said a word._

 _~oOo~_

Nick and the deputy stepped out of the sheriff's office; Nick was determined more than ever to bring Macklin down. He might not have been only, while he was talking with the sheriff, a messenger from the telegraph office had barged in. The lanky, sandy haired fourteen-year-old boy reminded Nick a lot of Gene when Gene was that age. Not knowing if Gene would live or die due to the actions of the man who had worked with Macklin, made it so Nick was seeing a dozen shades of red. Turning towards the saloon, Nick and the lawman started walking towards the establishment.

" _We saw Macklin enter the saloon not thirty minutes ago."_ The sheriff's words rang in Nick's ears. _"But, I would appreciate it if my deputy could go along with you, even if you are wearing a badge."_ Nick didn't argue as, if Gene had just waited for back up, he might not be fighting for his life at the moment.

"He's not going to just up and admit he's crooked, probably say the papers are fake and say he's being framed." The deputy told Nick as they drew closer to the saloon.

Nick wanted to roll his eyes at the statement. There was no need for the lawman to tell him the obvious. "I don't expect him too." Nick said as he made sure his vest was secured shut; he didn't want Macklin to see the badge right away. "You said you often drop in at the saloon to check things out and talk to its owner. Why don't you go in there first and strike up a conversation with the bartender? I'll make sure this badge," Nick said pointing to the star on his chest, "isn't showing and then come in a few minutes later. He's going to be shocked to see me here as it is; there's no reason to tell him we're working together."

The deputy started grinning wide. He liked this man's way of thinking. "No problem," Mr. Long said as he started up the few steps that led to the saloon's brown swinging doors while Nick moved up onto the boardwalk, but stayed away from the window. If the idea was to surprise Macklin with his appearance, there was no reason to let himself be seen too early. Soon the deputy had disappeared into the saloon.

~oOo~

While Heath sat near the back door and Henry kept an eye on the front one, Jarrod stood at the side of the bed watching the doctor. The salt and peppered haired gentleman by the name of Bradley Thayer, who was pushing fifty, shook his head as he removed the bullet that had injured Gene and then began stitching him back up.

"How is he?" Jarrod, who had helped the doctor where he could, asked; the great concern he felt for Eugene could be seen in his worried eyes and anxious voice. The looks in Heath's and Henry's eyes were the exact same as Jarrod's, and silently asked the same question.

How was his patient? That was one question that the doctor wished he could give a positive answer to every time he was asked that question. As it was, he had learned over the years to never guarantee anything. Life was an expert at proving mankind wrong. "He's lost a lot of blood and the bullet actually nicked the spine; a part of it was still touching it. If it weren't for the years I spent as a surgeon in the San Francisco hospital, I never would have attempted to remove it." The doctor answered as he began putting away his instruments; he'd have to wash and sterilize them the moment he got back to his office. "Will he live? Did the bullet actually do any damage by nicking his spine?" Dr. Thayer shrugged his shoulders and looked at the three men in the room. Inwardly, the good doctor let out a long drawn out sigh. Times like this made him wish he could see the future only he couldn't; none one could. "I can't answer those questions. What I can tell you is he absolutely cannot be moved at the moment." He closed his bag and headed for the door. "I'll talk to the sheriff the moment I get back into town. He needs to know about this place."

"Thanks for everything." Jarrod said as the doctor opened the door. Then, due to the lateness of the hour, he added, "You could simply sleep on one of the cots. I mean, only one of us will be lying down at a time." Jarrod said as he looked at Heath and at Henry. Both nodded in agreement. There was no way either of them wanted to find another one of Macklin's men entering the shack without someone being prepared to take care of him.

The doctor hesitated, and then gave in. Since his wife had died two years ago, and his children all had homes of their own; it was not like he had to hurry home to ease anyone's minds. "Might not be a bad idea," Dr. Thayer answered. "But, since I'm staying, I might as well wash my instruments up right now."

"I can do that." Jarrod, who wanted the doctor well rested if they needed him again, said as he stepped away from the bed and held his hand out for the bag. "Go ahead and get some sleep."

Once again, the doctor hesitated before giving in and handing his black bag over to the eldest Barkley brother. "I must admit, I am tired. Thank you." He said as he headed for the second cot. Soon Jarrod was washing the doctor's tools while Dr. Thayer lay down. Henry said nothing as he kept his eye on the front door, and Heath did his best to keep an eye on the back door and his injured brother at the same time.


	23. Chapter 23

Twenty Three

 **Excerpt from Ch 22:** _The deputy started grinning wide. He liked this man's way of thinking. "No problem," Mr. Long said as he started up the few steps that led to the saloon's brown swinging doors while Nick moved up onto the boardwalk, but stayed away from the window. If the idea was to surprise Macklin with his appearance, there was no reason to let himself be seen too early. Soon the deputy had disappeared into the saloon._

 _~oOo~_

Macklin had just started to rise from the table he was sitting only to drop back down, his eyes wide in astonishment. He blinked his eyes thinking he had to be more tired than he thought. Still, the sight of the dark haired, hot tempered rancher from Stockton did not go away. Not knowing what the Barkleys were hiding from him, or of what was going on out at the shack he'd stolen, Macklin grew excited. Jarrod might not have been willing to help him, but this Barkley son was known for his womanizing and 'untameable' spirit. With that line of thinking, Macklin was more than thrilled to see Nick walking towards him.

For his part, it was all Nick could do not to fly through the air and start pounding the corrupt federal agent that stood in his line of sight. Simply walking up and talking to Macklin, trying to say something that would make the man slip up and say something, was going against every natural reaction in Nick.

"Well, Mr. Barkley, what a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to see you here." Macklin leaned back in his chair and smiled; his smile slid from one of his ears to the other just like a snake slithering back and forth through grass; at least, Nick thought it did. "Won't you join me?" Macklin pointed a chair to his left, one that sat closer a few feet away from him, near the middle of the table.

Nick felt sick to his stomach, but did not show it. "Thanks, but no thanks. I've been sitting long enough. I was hoping to find you here." He then went on to say Jarrod had told the family what Macklin had wanted him to do. "With all due respect, that wasn't very smart. Jarrod's not like that."

Macklin bristled slightly; he had asked Jarrod not to talk about their visit. Then again, Nick was his brother and, after what had happened last time, the eldest son probably felt he needed to tell the family everything. "Maybe, but I was desperate. Though," Macklin smiled again, once more making Nick felt sick to his stomach and having to fight to keep control of himself, knowing what the man was about to say. He was right. "I assume there's a chance to enlist your help? I mean, you didn't come from California to Wyoming just to tell me asking your brother for help again was a mistake."

Holding onto the top of the chair in front of him, Nick leaned slightly forward and spoke in an uncharacteristically low tone of voice, "No, I didn't. I came to ask you a question."

Macklin had shock waves and a very uneasy feeling start to roll over him. The look in Nick's eyes had turned hard and cold, along with the tone in his voice; it had changed from an annoyed sound to a downright dangerous one. _"He knows something"_ a gut feeling sounded in Macklin's ears, but he hurried and denied it to himself. How could Nick know anything? He was just a hot tempered rancher from Stockton. "What is it?" Macklin straightened up and hid the uneasiness growing inside him.

"What would you say if I told your friend, Jack Roberts, tried to kill me? What if I told you; he said it was by your orders?" Nick added in the second part; even if it was a lie, in hopes of getting Macklin riled enough to allow himself to slip and unintentionally confess to anything illegal…even if they already had proof.

Macklin's eyes popped wide open and his mouth hit the floor. Unbeknownst to Nick, Macklin had mentioned going back to California and making Jarrod pay for not cooperating with him. That being the case, he thought that perhaps Mr. Roberts had wrongly interpreted him. "I ordered no such thing!" Macklin snapped as quietly as he could; he didn't want to attract attention. There were enough patrons around playing cards, drinking or talking that he didn't want to draw anyone's attention, and then there was the fact that he could see the deputy visiting the bartender.

"Not what he said after I returned his fire and wounded him." Nick said, unwilling to tell Macklin the man had actually died within minutes of being shot. "He said a number of things." Nick wasn't surprised when fear entered Macklin's eyes.

"Whatever he said, he's lying. I never ordered anything to be done that would affect you or any member of your family!" Macklin started to stand up only to find Nick moving like lightning. Before Macklin knew it, he felt Nick pushing him back down into his chair. "You're not going anywhere! You ordered the deaths of more than one person including Miss Beacher's!" Nick snapped, forgetting about his vow to be patient or tricking Macklin into making a confession. "The law knows it! It also knows everything else you've been up to! You're not going anywhere the law doesn't take you to from now on!"

"You're crazy!" Macklin hissed. "You don't have any proof of what you say and, even if you did, you've got no right to detain me!" He again started to rise only to find himself being forced down upon his chair once more. He opened his mouth to say more, only to have Nick unlace the leather strings that were attached to the vest together and move his vest aside. The deputy badge Jarrod's friend had given the brothers again shown as clear as day.

"What were you saying?" Naturally, Nick's actions had every patron in the room turning to see what the problem was. Those who were in a position turned around. The people who couldn't see the star, but watched the exiting patrons, either did the same or at least changed their position.

Macklin cursed as he saw the deputy step away from the bar and look his way. A smart man would have simply given up, but any brains Macklin had had fled long before he ever stepped into Wyoming. He knew fighting Nick and the deputy were useless, but he could at least kill Nick before anyone had time to stop him.

"Well, as wrong as you are," Macklin said holding his arms out to the side, "I guess I have no choice but to go with you. However," He brought his left hand in and took a hold of the side of his suit coat. "I will still have to pay my bill."

Nick wasn't fooled. He knew the man wasn't going for his wallet, but for what was probably something like a derringer. That being the case, he was prepared when Macklin tried to whip out the small pistol he carried in an inside pocket. Before Macklin knew what was happening, the chair under him was falling to the floor while his body was hitting the wall behind him; blood from a shot to his chest began spreading over his freshly washed white shirt. Macklin tried to talk but all he could do was stare at Nick and then slide to the floor dead as he could be.


	24. Chapter 24

Twenty Four

Jarrod opened the door to the last available room at the Lovell Boarding House; Nick, Heath and he had moved their baby brother there the moment Doctor Thayer said it was safe. Nick was sitting next to the bed with his chin in his hands and his elbows on his knees, while Heath was leaning against the window. Both looked more than tired, but at least all the men who had been listed on the papers Gene found were now behind bars.

"What did Doctor Thayer say?" Heath turned from the window and asked in a quiet subdued tone when he saw who had entered the room. The three brothers had come to the conclusion it was either transport Gene back to Stockton where the family could continue watching over him or prepare for their mother to arrive. There was no way she would stay at home if they didn't.

"The doctor reluctantly agreed to allow him to be transported. However, we can only do that if we move him to the Stockton Hospital… and as long as we go straight there." Jarrod said as he walked up and stopped by the bed in which Gene lay. How he wished Gene would wake up and be totally alert once more. As it was, this continued drifting in and out of consciousness, along with the fever that would go up and down, was beginning to worry Jarrod more than ever. "However, you and I can do that." He sighed and looked at Nick. "You need to go home to Hannah and figure out how you're going to get her to Stockton to testify at that trial without anyone discovering who she really is. I should say all of us will have to figure that one out." He then said he'd sent a couple of wires to their mother admitting just how serious things were and asking her to meet them at the train station when they arrived.

Nick bowed his head; he hated being torn in two like this. He didn't want to be away from Gene if the worst should happen. However, Jarrod was right, and he knew it. After a few moments he lifted his head and nodded it letting Jarrod know he had heard him and would comply.

~oOo~

Hannah, who had been searching throughout the house for her mother-in-law, opened front door and stepped out onto the paved porch. Victoria was standing not four feet in front of her; she was reading a letter that had arrived that morning. Since the Barkley matriarch wasn't smiling from ear to ear, Hannah assumed the worst and a strong feeling of fear entered her heart. "Mother?" Hannah said as she approached Victoria cautiously. "What is it?"

Victoria, who had been deep in thought, slightly gasped as she hadn't heard the front door open. Her head whipped around to see Hannah standing next to her. Naturally, her reaction had Hannah feeling more than guilty. However, when she started to apologize, Victoria stopped her. "Don't apologize. You didn't try to startle me."

Hannah did her best to smile even if she was worried. "Is something wrong?"

Victoria sighed a she held up the two-page letter. "Macklin and one of his men are dead. Nick and Heath have been helping the sheriff wind up a few of their cohorts."

"And Jarrod? Gene?" She asked when Victoria stopped and turned her attention back to the letter. Hannah found herself holding her breath praying she wasn't going to hear that her other two brothers-in-laws had been killed. If that was the case, Hannah knew she would have a hard time not blaming herself, even if she knew Victoria would disagree with her.

"Jarrod's been with Gene." Victoria's voice broke as she covered her mouth, shaken by what had happened to her youngest. A part of her wanted to kick him for not waiting for his brothers. Then again, Jarrod did state if Gene had waited they wouldn't have the evidence to put the rest of Macklin's men behind bars. "Gene took a bullet to his back."

Hannah's face paled, and she gasped as her hands flew up to her mouth. "H…he died?"

"No," Victoria looked at her daughter-in-law and assured Hannah that was not the case. "He's still alive. The doctor they have up there happens to have experience in this type of surgery. He got the bullet out." Victoria paused and then said quietly, "While the bullet barely nicked the spine, the doctor's not sure just what the long time results will be." Victoria swallowed hard and then said, "There's a chance that Gene will be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life. That is when he does more than drift in and out of consciousness." She went out to explain that Audra and Chad had been sent for. "Jarrod, Nick and Heath feel it's safe now; that is, as long as the two of you continue going by your new names." She then sighed and shook her head, "No one has been able to find out why Chad was a target. Jarrod wrote and said he thought one Jack Roberts and Macklin did know. However, it was just a strong feeling he had overcome him, but he had no proof since he didn't actually talk to the men."

Hannah felt a thousand emotions running through her and asked, after picking up her jaw and without half thinking, "Jack Roberts?"

Naturally her reaction had Victoria frowning and asking questions. "You know him?"

Hannah shuddered a little. "Only met him a few times, he was sweet on my sister. He tried to get her to leave Jeremiah and go with him a few years back. She refused. He got ugly the last time he was at my sister's home. He didn't know I was there; he was too busy yelling at her. He swore he'd make her pay someday, and anyone connected to her. I bet you it was him all along. Though," she shook her head, "I never thought he was so bad he'd want a two-year-old child dead as well." Her mind then turned to Macklin. While she was relieved to hear he was no longer a threat; and that Audra and Chad would return to California, she was upset to learn what price the youngest Barkley had, and might, pay to ensure her and Chad's safety. "I never wanted any member of this family hurt. Maybe we should travel to Wyoming ourselves."

Victoria shook her head and explained that the letter had arrived moments after a telegram Jarrod had sent-and what the doctor had consented to. "Letters are always slower than telegrams. And," she spoke firmly as she could see no other way to get through to her daughter-in-law, "for the last time, do not take any undue guilt upon yourself! Now," she sighed as she looked around the porch and then, walking to the side of the house, looked around the corner. They had some ramps in the barn that they had used when Nick had hurt his back and been stuck in a wheelchair for a while; guess it was time to put those ramps back to use. "I think we best ask McColl and one of the other men to put the ramps in place for Gene's return, just in case he needs them." She turned and looked at Hannah. "Audra and Chad will be home in a few days; you might want to do some cleaning in Chad's room." Not that was that much work to do in that particular room, there wasn't. Victoria simply figured Hannah needed to keep busy at the moment.

"Yes, Mother," Hannah answered, and then turned around and disappeared back into the house.


	25. Chapter 25

ChapterTwenty Five

Gene slowly opened his eyes, even if it felt as if it was taking all his strength to do it. At first things were a bit hazy but, as he blinked a few times, everything came into focus. From the white walls and ceiling, along with the noise out in the hallway, the youngest Barkley knew he was in a hospital room. He turned his head slightly; Jarrod had his hands on the window seal and was looking out. Gene might have said something but he was shocked to see his mother, her head tilted slightly to her left with her eyes closed and sitting next to his bed. What on earth had happened? The moment he asked that it all came back to him.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Gene heard the sound of a hammer being pulled back and froze, praying whoever had entered the shack would not pull the trigger._

 _"Raise your hands slowly." A voice spoke; Gene recognized it as belonging to the man he'd heard talking with Macklin. He did as the man directed and then, at the man's demand, turned around._

"Who are you?" Mr. Roberts said as he took a few long strides; he was practically on top of Gene by the time he finished speaking.

Gene could tell by the look in the man's eyes and the way he was waving the gun in Gene's face, Macklin's partner wasn't really interested in hearing anything he had to say. Figuring he was a dead man for sure if he didn't do something, Gene did the only thing he could…he grabbed the man's arm and started fighting him. He'd heard the gun go off and heard the man yell that he'd been shot in the leg. However, before Gene could make another move, the man managed to pry him off and, twirling him around, pushed him away. There had been another shot fired and all had gone black.

 _ **End of Flashback**_ **  
**  
Gene tried to move and let out a moan as pain shot up his back. That would not have been so bad, but he instantly realized he could not move his legs. However, before he could react to that Jarrod…who had heard his soft moan…turned away from the window and swiftly moved to the side of Gene's bed, making sure he didn't wake their mother as he did so. Jarrod put his hand on the headboard and looked down at his brother whose eyes were wide open. "Gene? How do you feel?"

"I'm alive. Did you all get Macklin and his men? When did mother arrive?" Gene spoke as he again tried to move. It made Jarrod's heart ache for his baby brother.

"Here, let me help you." Jarrod let go of the headboard and, sliding his arms underneath Gene's, helped prop him up on the pillows that lay on his bed. Victoria had brought a few extra ones from the house. The hospital hadn't wanted her to bring them in, but she'd fought them and won.

"Macklin's dead." Jarrod said as he gave Gene a shortened version of what had happened. "We transported you back to Stockton."

Stockton! Gene's eyes widened. Since when did...oh, that's right. The town had actually shocked people when they'd announced that one. "How long have I been out? Has Hannah testified in court yet?" Depending on how long he'd been out, he knew the trial his sister-in-law was scheduled to testify at could have very well already taken place.

"Three weeks, you've been drifting in and out of consciousness, fighting one infection after another. It's good to touch you and not feel heat rolling off you." Jarrod answered as he carefully sat down on the side of the bed. "I or Heath, along with Mother have been with you the majority of the time."

"And Nick and Hannah? The trial?" Gene asked, keeping his eyes on Jarrod.

Jarrod didn't really want to talk about Charles Crown, but Gene had the right to know what had happened while he was unconscious.

"Nick and two of my friends accompanied Hannah to the trial." Jarrod answered. "However, before she appeared, Nick had her dye her hair back to its natural color and remove the glasses. Afterwards, there was a bit of a distraction-one that our friends had planned before time. Nick stayed to help get things under control while our friends slipped Hannah away. That way, anyone who might actually see her leave, would not connect her to Nick. Later, Nick went to pick her up at the hotel our friends had taken her to. She had dyed her hair and donned the glasses once more." Jarrod shrugged his shoulders and continued. "Things on that end are over. Charles Crown is going to prison for a long time. I'm sure Jordan will find another man to replace him; men like Jordan always do." Then, when Gene questioned him about their sister-in-law and nephew's safety, Jarrod shook his head. "None of us think Jordan or Crown had a hand ordering the deaths he did." Jarrod said and then explained what Hannah had said when she heard Jack Robert's name. "However, none of us are taking any chances. I mean, if she's wrong, Crown is still alive and still has friends. That's the main reason she dyed her hair and put the glasses back on…as a safety precaution." He paused and then continued on, "I've made up a false history for Hannah and Chad. As far as the law is concerned, she is Hannah Akins, Chad's her biological son, and the story Nick and she let everyone believe when they first came home will stand." Jarrod paused and then, doing his best to smile, said, "I was skeptic when you said you thought you could hold your own, guess I had that schoolboy picture in my head. I wanted you to know I think you did a wonderful job. I'm just sorry you were injured as a result of this incident." As he talked, Jarrod couldn't help but glance at Gene's legs every now and then.

It felt good to hear such praise coming from his eldest brother. Still…"That bullet I took," Gene looked at Jarrod in earnest. "It paralyzed my legs didn't it?"

Jarrod swallowed hard as he nodded ever so slowly. "It would appear so, but it might not be long term. The doctors can't really say." He paused and then asked if Gene wished that he, Jarrod, had fought him harder when it came to allowing Gene to get involved.

Gene, who heard the guilt Jarrod felt in his brother's voice, turned his gaze towards the ceiling and, after two or three minutes of silence, he looked back at his eldest brother. "Don't blame yourself for this. I'm not sorry at all. Whether or not I ever walk again doesn't matter, I did what I had to do." He then glanced at their mother. "Mother's going to have a stiff neck if we don't wake her."

Jarrod nodded in agreement. "I know, but she hasn't had much sleep and she has refused to leave your side. I hate to wake her." He might have said more only, just as he spoke, Victoria opened her eyes and began working out the kink in her neck. However, when she realized her youngest was awake and propped up on the pillows, she let out a cry of delight and, jumping out of the chair, leaned over and gave her 'baby' a hug.

"I'll go tell the others you're awake and coherent." Jarrod smiled and left his youngest brother and their mother to talk.


	26. Last Chapter and Epilogue

**Chapter Twenty Six and Epilogue**

Nick had been out mending fences all morning. He continued on toward the corrals instead of going back into the house for one reason; his wife had been awfully moody that morning...compliments of the results of the time they'd spent at the lodge. She could no longer hide the fact that she was carrying Nick's child; however, he couldn't help but grin wide he when thought about that. His smiled faded just a little as he caught sight of Gene. Nick's baby brother was sitting in a wheelchair next to the corrals. That was a sight that would forever bring an ache to his heart, no matter what anyone said. Nick had been quite busy since they'd arrived home, and he hadn't had much chance to really talk with Gene. That was something he intended to change before he did anything else.

Gene heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He took a hold of the wheels on his wheelchair and turned it sideways. He smiled wide as Nick walked up and leaned against the fence. However, he could see the small amount of hurt showing in his brother's eyes and so he chastised him. "Get that look out of your eyes. As I told Jarrod while I was in the hospital," he tapped his chair and said, "Life happens; we all take chances. I took mine and I'm not sorry one tiny bit."

"I know that." Nick gave Gene a small smile though he thought to himself. "It's just hard to see you confined to that thing after you did such an amazing job in Wyoming. It's going to take time to get used to it." Then, due to hearing Gene, Jarrod and their mother discuss Gene's schooling, he asked, "I agree with the others. You should go back to school once the semester starts. You can still be a doctor; maybe not a surgeon, but you could practice general medicine." He didn't want to see his baby brother let go of his dream to be a doctor. After all, being in a wheelchair didn't have to stop that one completely.

Gene couldn't help but beam. Jarrod and Heath had both complimented him on the work he had done while tailing Macklin, but Nick had never said a word. It had left him to wondering if, somehow, Nick was disappointed in him. It made him feel as if he was floating on a huge white cloud to now hear Nick's praise. Keeping his eyes on his hot tempered brother, Gene said, "I'll tell you the same thing I told the rest of the family. If you think I'm going to let men like Macklin and Roberts stop me from living my life the way I want to, you have another thing coming. I already contacted Berkley before any of you talked to me. I go back to school next week."

Now Nick really was smiling as he clamped his hand down upon Gene's shoulder. "We should have known better than to worry about you!"

"Yeah, you should have." Gene smiled back as he turned his chair towards the house. As he did so, he asked, "I take it Hannah will have to keep her hair dyed and wear those glasses the rest of her life?" Now it was he who felt bad. He would hate to have to change his appearance in hopes of keeping himself alive.

Nick sighed and nodded his head as the two headed back towards the house. "She and I have talked about it and, yes, we both think it's for the best. Though, let's not worry about that now. It's like everyone else has said; in the long run, we're all winners." He then joked that the family best get used to Laurels, as Hannah had already hung some in the nursery, and still had plenty left over.

Gene started laughing. "Watch her string them throughout the whole house."

"Oh, I doubt she'd do that." Nick said as he reached out and opened the front door, stepping aside to let his baby brother wheel himself in. The moment Gene was inside the foyer he busted up laughing.

"What's so…" Nick started to asked as he too stepped inside the house. His eyes widened and he let out a groan. Various Laurels were hung in the living room and, from the looks of it, the hallway had some hanging on its walls. Nick looked at Gene, let out a low groan and then started laughing with Gene.

"I have a feeling the next six months are going to be very interesting, if that's the word I want to use." Gene said as he looked at Nick…it only served to make the two brothers laugh even harder than ever.

 **Epilogue**

Hannah held five-year-old Chad's right hand while Nick carried their two-year-old daughter, Clarissa, in his arms as they made their way down one of Berkley's many corridors. Jarrod and Eva, who had married shortly after the brothers' return from Wyoming, and their twin girls who were two years-old were already in the auditorium. Heath and his wife of one year, an auburn haired woman by the name of Janice, along with Victoria, were also with them. The only one missing was Audra, and she had no choice but to be absent…she'd married Will Marvin two years before and had just given birth to a baby girl by the name of Mary. Unfortunately, the first time mother had had a difficult birth, and the doctor had confined her to her bed for a few weeks. Soon Nick and his family were making their way into the auditorium and down the long steps that led to the seats the rest of the Barkleys had saved for them.

"We were beginning to think you weren't going to make it." Heath teased Nick as his brother's family found their seats and sat down.

"We wouldn't miss this for a million dollars." Nick grinned as the curtains of the stage opened and Gene, along with his fellow medical students, appeared. However, when Gene took a hold of two dark brown canes with handles plaited in gold (graduation gifts from Jarrod) stood up and walked to accept his diploma Hannah, Nick and the rest of the family clapped louder than anyone in the room.


End file.
